Riscatto
by XxBlackChaosxX
Summary: Romano has looked up to his younger brother for many reasons. Right now, it's for his skill in the love field. SpainxRomano, Spamano Rating increase for later chapters :
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Lovino fell forwards, landed roughly on the cement floor with an _umph _as all the air was forced out of his lungs with the impact. This did not dissuade him, though; as soon as he landed, he twisted around to look back at the people who had thrown him. He was on his feet in a second, though it was a second too late; the iron bars of the prison slammed shut, trapping him inside. He screamed with anger, gripped the bars and shook them violently, though they hardly moved. "Who the hell do you think you are, you bastards?" He shouted, though it was pointless; the soldiers were already too far away to care about what he said.

Southern Italy growled, holding his forehead in his hand, and moved off to one of the walls, slunk down it. "Damn those Britons," he murmured, rubbing the part of his chest he had landed on.

"Fratello?" A frail voice called from the other side of the cell. Lovino squinted – he could barely see through the darkness. "Fratello, is that you?"

He knew that voice; he'd know it anywhere, 'till the day he died. "Feliciano," he called, directing his younger brother to the sound of his voice. "I'm here. It's me."

"Fratello, fratello!" Feliciano cheered, somehow finding him instantly and engulfing him in a tight hug. Lovino grunted – his chest still hurt, he thought he had broken it sometime in battle, or when he was thrown in the cell – but said nothing against his little brother. He adored him too much to do that, even though he always kept up a tough exterior.

"It's alright, I'm here, stop crying, brat," Lovino murmured, hugging Feliciano back as the younger cried.

"T-the food is so bad here, fratello!" Feliciano whined, causing Lovino to sigh. He should have known it would have been about the quality of the food and not the fact that he was being imprisoned. "A-and I only get two meals a day, and _no pasta!_" The younger continued to cry a river onto Lovino's jacket.

Lovino sighed. "How long have you been here?" He whispered into his brother's ear, trying to divert the younger from the 'worst' of his problems.

Feliciano's cries slowed a little as he thought of something other than the lack of food. "P-probably two or three days…"

Anger flared within Lovino's chest. How _dare _someone hold his dear little brother for so long, without what he needed to live and be happy? Che palle!

Northern Italy sniffled once more, gripped Southern Italy's jacket tightly, as though it – and Lovino himself – would simply fade away if he did not hold on tightly enough. "B-but," Feliciano sniffed once more, aligned his eyes with Lovino's, "I'm glad you're here with me, fratello…You always make me feel better…" Feliciano rested his head against Lovino's throbbing chest, finally calm.

"Why haven't you called the potato-sucking bastard?"

"Don't call Germany that!" Feliciano objected feebly. He continued and answered Lovino's question. "They wouldn't let me call out for help, and I have nothing to convince them otherwise…"

"Tsk," Lovino responded. "Damn those tasteless Briton bastards!" He yelled the last, at the top of his lungs, hoping somewhere a Brit was sneezing.

"Sssshhhhhh!" Feliciano urged, lying a finger on Lovino's lips. "Please, fratello, don't make them angry. It's bad enough that they…" Feliciano let his voice drift off, presumably deep in thought.

Anger began to bubble within Lovino at the thought of what the soldiers could have done to his little brother. "It's bad enough that they _what_?" He urged, the anger in his voice sounding like it was directed at his brother, who began to cry again. "What did they do to you?" Lovino roared, grabbing Feliciano's shoulders tightly.

The tears were flowing down Feliciano's face freely once more. "P-please, fratello, you're hurting me! I'll tell you, I'll tell you! But please let go!"

Lovino let go instantly, barely aware of what he had done to his little brother, and shocked he had done it. Feliciano took a moment to calm down, then went up to his brother's ear and whispered just what the soldiers had done to him.

Southern Italy's fist clenched in raw anger, his arms shook with the effort it took just to keep them from swinging at someone.

"Fratello, fratello, please, fratello…" Feliciano took Lovino's face in his hands, rested his forehead against his older brother's. "Please, it's alright now, I'm okay, I promise."

Lovino took deep, calming breaths, and slowly his trembling began to steady. "Feliciano," he whispered, gently cupping his brother's face in his hands as his brother did to him, "I can't let them go unpunished…"

"You must, fratello," Northern Italy whispered. "Please, fratello, I'm fine. It was only once…All I need is you right here to protect me…Please, god, please don't kill them." Tears were running down Feliciano's face once more.

Lovino had always thought of his little brother as an angel, and of himself as a devil. His little brother was the one praying for the souls of those he did not know, his brother was the voice of reason when he could no longer control himself. Lovino, on the other hand, was hot-tempered and quick to exact vengeance. Feliciano was level-headed and able to reason more. They balanced one another perfectly; the embodiment of the Vatican and the face of the Mafia.

Now, Lovino's Mafia days were burning just behind his eyes, blood splattering and gunshots firing in his mind's eye. He was back a century, to a time where the unjust truly got what was coming to them.

How could Feliciano have mercy for someone who had defiled him so? How could he sit there a beg Lovino _not _to kill the sorry bastard?

His fratellino was simply too pure.

Lovino swallowed, hard, thinking things over and trying to fight down his violent instincts. "W-what do we do then?" His amber eyes focused on his brothers, which were the exact same color. It was the only trait they shared.

Feliciano kissed his cheeks. "We wait."

* * *

They fell asleep in each other's arms like that. This was not common between them, but Lovino felt the occasion called for it. Besides, there was no one around that new them, or that would live to call them out about it on a later date.

Lovino had stayed up longer than Feliciano, thinking things over. He vowed that, when they managed to get out of there, every last fucking Brit was going to _pay. _No one was making it out alive. Even if he had to knock his brother out beforehand, he was going to do it. There was just no way he could let any one of those mother fuckers live to see another day.

They were awoken some time later from the sound of the iron bars opening. Lovino's grip on his little brother tightened; he could hear Feliciano whimpering, could feel him gripping tighter, too. "I won't let them hurt you again," Lovino whispered in Feliciano's ear as the door opened.

Lovino turned on the stranger, then. "Get the fuck out of here, you bastard!"

"Is that really how you welcome your rescuers?" Ludwig responded.

Jesus. It was that potato-sucking bastard. It wasn't the best rescue party, but they were rescued.

"Germaaaannnyyy!" Feliciano cried. He abandoned his brother and attacked Ludwig with a hug, and then, to Lovino's astonishment, a flat out, lip-on-lip (and maybe some tongue) kiss.

"N-not here, Italia…" Ludwig stammered.

"You potato-sucking _bastard_!" Lovino screeched, jumping to his feet. "What have you done to my sweet little brother?" He went in for the kill, but Feliciano stepped between them.

"Fratello, no!" He pleaded. "Germany and Veneziano are…together!" His younger brother smiled happily and grabbed one of Ludwig's hands, swinging it cheerily.

Lovino approached his brother, hands in his back pockets, a quizzical expression on his face. "So you're - ?"

"Yes!" Feliciano answered with a smile.

"-crazy?" Lovino finished the way his sentence was supposed to be finished.

Feliciano fell over.

"We don't have time for this, you two!" Ludwig intervened as Feliciano stood again, wiping himself off a bit. "Spain's waiting – "

"Spain?" Lovino interrupted, heart fluttering.

Why was his heart fluttering?

No matter.

"Ludwig, I have to speak with you about something urgent." Ludwig and Lovino both turned to Feliciano, who gloomily took a few steps back.

Scrunching his nose in distaste, Lovino stepped closer to Ludwig and whispered, "Feliciano was raped here by one of the soldiers." He could see Ludwig fuming, even before he had finished the sentence, so he hastily continued, "And I'm not going to stand for it, no matter what he says. You get him outside, and let me borrow your gun."

Ludwig nodded without taking time to think, handed Lovino his 9mm. "Hurry up, we don't have long. Spain and I snuck in here, so no one knows yet…except for the guard down the hall we knocked unconscious. Don't be stupid."

"Yeah," Lovino murmured, then moved off in pursuit.

* * *

Another Brit was pulled out of his chair and thrown onto the floor. Lovino walked over to him calmly, stood on his collarbone so that he could not escape in any way, and pointed the gun at the man's forehead. Before the last of the Britons in the building could plead his case, Lovino fired a round into the man's skull, hitting him directly between the eyes. Blood splattered up with the impact, though it didn't make much difference; Lovino was already covered in it, especially on his chest, face, and shoes.

Feeling justified, Lovino calmly made his way outside, where Spain and the rest would be waiting for him. He had one round left in the 9mm, but he threw it to the ground as he walked out anyway. It was habit.

He climbed into the backseat of their getaway car, which was being driven by Spain. Ludwig sat in the passenger's seat, and Feliciano was behind Spain, crying, which only intensified when he saw Lovino's newly-redecorated clothing.

As Spain stepped on the gas, Feliciano wailed, "Fratello! You _promised! _You _promised _you wouldn't do anything!"

"Hush," Lovino commanded, opening his arms wide. Feliciano, who seemed to not notice the blood all over him, rushed into his embrace, burying his face in Lovino's chest and sobbing profusely. "It's all better now," Lovino comforted, holding his brother. "everything's gonna be alright now."

* * *

**A/n **

_Fratello - Brother _

_Fratellino - Little Brother_

_Che Palle - What balls_

_Riscatto (title) - Redemption  
_

**This is supposed to be a SpainxRomano fic...Don't worry, it will turn into one soon! :D How's it so far? :)  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

It was decided that they would all stay at Ludwig's place for the night, possibly longer, since it was closest from where they were. Halfway there, Feliciano had fallen asleep in Lovino's embrace, which he didn't really mind, not now.

What was bothering him, though, was the blood that was drying all over his skin and clothes. It left him with an itching sensation, a dreadful tug at his attention that couldn't be satisfied. _Tsk_ing with annoyance, Lovino attempted to ignore the sensation as best as possible by keeping his gaze focused out the window and watching the world pass by.

Feliciano whimpered in his sleep, curled up even closer to Lovino, if that were possible. Lovino was tempted to _tsk _again, but held his tongue. After all Feliciano had been through, he did not deserve Lovino's typical standoffish-ness.

He felt himself nodding off and fought it every step of the way, but eventually it was inevitable.

* * *

He woke sometime later, when the car had turned off. Fighting off the last dredges of his dreamless slumber, Lovino slowly began to sit upright, nudging Feliciano awake as he did so.

Feliciano, of course, continued to sleep like a baby. "Wake up, damnit!" Lovino shouted, grabbing his brother's shoulders and shaking him violently. "We're here! Get _up_!"

Ludwig noticed his inability in waking his brother up. He turned around in his front seat and simply ran a finger down Feliciano's face, followed it to his curl and gently followed its length. Lovino watched, brows furrowed, in curiosity.

Immediately responding to the touch, Feliciano opened his eyes. "Ve…" he murmured, smiling.

"What the hell is that?" Lovino screeched, jealous.

"Che?" Feliciano murmured, looking from Lovino to Ludwig and back.

Lovino rolled his eyes and climbed out of the car.

Inside Germany's place, Lovino murmured something about a shower, ignoring how his brother was so easily clinging onto the German. How could Feliciano trust and love so easily? Lovino knew he had been hurt in the past by those he had loved…What made him so open?

Why did it even matter?

Lovino _tsk_ed as threw the blood-covered jacket onto Ludwig's perfect floor. He heard screams of response from three different people, all at once:

"Don't soil my floor with British blood!"

"What are you doing throwing that dirty shirt onto Germany's floor?"

"What happened to your chest?"

This last was shouted by Feliciano, which shut the other two nations up immediately. Lovino looked over to his brother with a quizzical look, but quickly turned his attentions to his chest when he saw the blanched look on Feliciano's face. Feliciano was squeamish, so for him to be so pale…

Lovino inhaled, gently touched the tip of his fingers to the gaping wound that screamed back at him. It looked like a knife wound, and there was bruising above it, to boot. So his ribs _had _been bruised when he was thrown in the cell. But when had he been cut?

Southern Italy looked up to his brother, who was on the verge of passing out. "Don't pass out," he hissed, clenching his fingers to the bleeding area and hissing quietly with pain as he did so. "I'm fine."

"Fratello, fratello," Feliciano whimpered, looking like he wanted to come closer but couldn't muster the strength to be so close to blood. Ludwig moved to his 'lover' and shielded Lovino from Feliciano's plain of sight. Feliciano whimpered, buried his face in Ludwig's chest. He was probably crying.

"Spain, take care of him," Ludwig ordered. "Everything you need will be in the bathroom. That door there," –he pointed to a door just to the side of them—"is available for guests." Ludwig began moving off with Feliciano, down the hall.

"Come on, Romano," Antonio whispered, tugging the younger male into the guest bedroom. He forced Lovino to lie down on the bed, then went to retrieve the medical equipment.

Lovino laid down, one arm used as a pillow, the other resting along his forehead. He tried thinking back to when he was exacting his revenge. When had he gotten cut…?

He remembered that one of the British officers had pulled a broken beer bottle on him. The man was swinging wildly, somehow in the fray Lovino had lost his gun and had to wrestle with the man. That had to have been when he had gotten cut.

He didn't remember a thing. He had blacked out, mentally; was focused only on bloodlust and revenge.

That always used to happen, in his Mafia days.

Lovino sighed heavily, turned his head to face the wall that was to his right. He looked at the beige color intently, as though it would give him the answers to everything if only he looked long enough.

Antonio returned, then, a bucket of water in one hand and a bundle of medical supplies in his other arm. He set the bucket down by Lovino, grabbed a chair, and silently set to work. Lovino grunted with the pain, covered his eyes with the forearm that had been resting on his forehead, and held his fingers in a painful fist.

After Antonio cleared the area with soap and water, he cleaned it was Iodine. Lovino – embarrassingly – couldn't suppress the cry of pain.

"Sorry," Antonio mumbled as he continued with his work.

"Shut up, bastard," Lovino hissed in response. To have Antonio apologize for his pain made the fact that he cried out with it even more embarrassing.

Antonio said nothing in response, just continued to clean the wounded area.

After a moment, Antonio murmured something about him sitting up on his forearms. With a groan, Lovino did so. Antonio immediately began to wrap bandages around Lovino's abdomen, painfully tight.

As he was doing this, his face would pass dreadfully close to Lovino, forcing him to catch a whiff of the Spaniard's scent. He smelled like tomatoes and summer.

It made Lovino's heart thump in that odd way it hardly ever did.

Alright, it thumped oddly more often than that, usually with Antonio involved.

Lovino felt his face warm up, grunted and looked away in annoyance. His heart continued to thump oddly, and he wondered if he somehow developed a heart murmur.

"I'm done," the elder nation whispered, causing the younger to look back to him once more.

The man's face was _right there. _Lovino gasped a little in surprise, but couldn't muster the strength to yell and scream at him. His heart continued to thump, faster now, and his palms were a little sweaty. It felt like he couldn't breathe, and his lips were tingling. Lovino's head spun.

He forced himself to break free of those stupid, useless feelings. "Get away from me, bastard," he whispered, looking to his lap. For some reason, he wasn't able to face Antonio when saying this, not now.

"Are you sure?"

This made Lovino look up, back into Antonio's eyes, which were even closer now. They were lusted over with something, though Lovino was not sure what.

Lovino's heart thumped even louder. In all the years he had lived with Antonio, the Spaniard had never done anything like this. When Lovino would order him to get away, he honored his request silently and without hurt. But now he was pushing boundaries.

When Antonio's fingers barely, just barely, rested on Lovino's cheek, his face went a scarlet color. Antonio had _never _done this before…Why now? Had Lovino let his guard slip, revealing something crucial to the Spaniard? Lovino looked away again, clenched his eyes shut and balled the sheets of the mattress into his fists. He couldn't accept this as reality…This was wrong, it was a dream, he was hallucinating…The Antonio he knew would never randomly come on to him like this, not unless he had let something slip.

But he hadn't.

He hadn't, he was sure of it. There was no way Antonio could have interpreted something he had done as affection for him…It simply was not possible.

He tried calling his sanity back once more, and this time it finally heeded his calls. "Get out of here, now, fucker." Lovino hissed, keeping his eyes closed. He still couldn't manage to yell at Antonio that way right now, so he had to keep from seeing it. It was easier that way.

All at once, the smell of the Spaniard vanished, and he heard the door to his room quickly opening, then closing.

Antonio was gone.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Lovino opened his eyes once more, looked around.

He winced when he felt a particular tightness below his waist and looked down.

He was hard.

* * *

**A/n **

Che - What  
Fratello - Brother  
Fratellino - Little brother  
Lovino - Romano/South Italy's Human name  
Ludwig - Germany's human name  
Antonio - Spain's human name  
Feliciano - Veneziano/North Italy's human name

Added the names just in case you didn't know :D

So here's the second chapter 8D Does Romano still seem in character? This is my first Hetalia fanfic that wasn't just mindless sex (X3) so I'm trying really hard to keep everyone together...I think maybe Spain/Antonio was a little outta character...Feel free to let me know if you think they are!

Also, does their relationship seem like it's progressing too fast? Please let me know :3


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

After he had taken care of what he could not ignore, Lovino quietly opened the door to his room and looked around. No one in sight.

Lovino made a dash for the bathroom door as quickly and stealthily as he could. No way did he want Antonio or Feliciano, or worse, that potato-sucking bastard to come around and ask what he was up to. That would be too difficult to explain.

As soon as he began pulling the door open, he heard a voice to his right. "Fratello, are you going to take a shower?"

Lovino sighed heavily. Of course Feliciano would show up when he wanted to be alone. "Yes," he murmured, pulling the door open fully and walking inside.

"Can I shower with you?" Feliciano asked, like a child wanting candy. "It's been so long since we –"

Lovino spun around to face his fratellino. "No," he cut him off, "brothers don't do that. Not at our age."

Tears began to well at the corners of Feliciano's eyes, and Lovino simply couldn't say no.

* * *

Feliciano sang merrily as he soaped up. Lovino scowled, not enjoying this at all, and soaped up himself, careful not to get the bandages too wet.

Soon enough they were finished, and were just standing there, enjoying the feel of the water along their naked flesh. With a sigh, Lovino decided to try something he had never tried before.

"F-feliciano," he began, turning to face his little brother.

"Che?" Feliciano answered from the floor of the shower.

Blushing, Lovino sat down with his brother. "How…how did you and…"—this next part took a lot of control to say correctly—"Ludwig get together?"

Feliciano smiled at the subject. "Well, I first realized that I liked him pretty much the instant we met." He blushed a little, and Lovino rolled his eyes. Northern Italy was always such a romantic. "But I finally mustered up the courage to tell Germany when I told Germany I was worried about Germany forgetting me when he became friends with Big Brother Russia. I had written Germany a note, and then we got together to talk about it…And then finally I told Germany exactly what I felt for him!"

Lovino just stared at his fratellino. All the 'Germanys' in one sentence had thrown him off quite a bit. "Weren't you afraid he wouldn't love you back?" Lovino pulled his knees up and hugged them, despite the pain he felt in his chest.

"A little," Feliciano admitted with a smile. "But part of me knew Germany liked me back because of the way he acted!" He was giggling with the memory now.

"How did he act?" Lovino pressed. Suddenly his brother's love life became very important to him.

"Well, Germany was always there for me when I needed someone to save me, and Germany never complained about it, not really. Germany feed me good food and let me eat pasta as much as I wanted, though he did scold me when I tried making pasta in the middle of the desert and used up all our water…" Feliciano smiled. "I could tell Germany liked me because he never complained when I hugged him or held his hand or snuck in his bed at night." Feliciano paused. "Okay, so he _did _yell when I climbed into his bed at night, but he never stopped me…" Feliciano smiled at his older brother.

"How did you know you liked him?" Lovino was pretty much whispering now, but he knew Feliciano could hear him, or at least know what he was asking. They had been really close once, still basically were, to the point where they could finish each other's sentences and know what the other was thinking.

"My heart told me!" Feliciano exclaimed, pointing to his chest as he said it. Lovino just stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate. Finally he caught the hint and continued, "Whenever I was with Germany, I was really happy. But when we were apart, I was really sad. And when I thought Germany was gonna forget about me, I almost went crazy. My heart always jumped when I was with Germany, and he always made me happier than anything, even when I was really sad."

Lovino chewed his bottom lip, thinking of Antonio. Were those really the same feelings he held for Antonio? Or was it just admiration for having stuck with him for so long? He was so confused…He was supposed to like girls, girls! Feliciano could be the ass-pirate, not him! This wasn't right!

"W-when did you first find out…you liked boys?" Lovino looked up to his brother nervously, afraid of where this conversation would lead.

Feliciano thought for a moment. "Ve…I think I've always liked boys."

"Really?" This was news to Lovino…especially considering their Vatican days, when Feliciano acted all pious and proper. "You're not even attracted to girls, not a bit?"

Feliciano was silent another moment, then shook his head. "I could never imagine myself with a girl," he confided, choosing then to mimic the position Lovino was sitting in, so that their knees touched and depended on one another for structural support. The shower water was getting colder and colder against Lovino's back, but he ignored it. He and Feliciano never spoke like this anymore…It was a real treat, one he was not going to throw away and label as another day. He wanted this to last forever.

All his life, Lovino had chased after girls. He had always been kinder to them than he had been to males, be them his age or older. But…But.

But.

He had to admit it; each and every girl he'd ever chased had turned him down or left his heart to bleed. And…and he was never really attracted to them, either. Well, he _was_, but he had never imagined doing anything with them, other than kissing and holding hands. That's all a relationship was, right?

"F-Feliciano," he whispered, looking away with embarrassment as he prepared to ask this question, "h-have you and Ludwig ever…you know…?" He caught his brother's eye for a split second as he asked this, quickly looked away again.

"Are you asking if we've ever had sex?" Feliciano asked, a wide smile on his face. Lovino sulked. It was so easy for his _younger _brother to talk about such…such intimate things…

"Ah, um…yeah," Lovino whispered, looking to their feet. Their toes intertwined.

"We do it _all the time!_" The younger shouted happily, causing the elder to fall back in shock. "We even gave each other blowjobs while you and Big Brother Spain were – "

"Stop right there!" Lovino shouted, covering his ears with his hands. "That is _more _than enough information!" Feliciano giggled and, when they calmed down, Lovino murmured, "Did it hurt when…you know…?"

"A little, only the first time," Feliciano answered, his voice barely above a whisper. "But then, the more you do it, the less it hurts and the more fun it is." He smiled and rubbed his toes against Lovino's in a playful way. "Plus, Germany's very gentle with me," Feliciano blushed, the smile stuck on his face.

Lovino blushed, too, but for a different reason. He imagined all of the things his brother was telling him, but substituted himself and Antonio in. His blush deepened to a scarlet color when he realized exactly what he was thinking about.

The water of the shower was getting too cold to ignore. "Time to get out," he sighed, standing and turning the water off.

Feliciano followed him out of the shower, and they both began drying off. "Fratello?" He called when Lovino had turned his back and began drying himself off.

"Hmm?" Lovino murmured as he began pulling clean clothes he had found in the closet over his head.

"You like Big Brother Spain, don't you?"

Lovino spun around, scarlet, to face his brother. "Wh-How-Huh?" He was so shocked and at such a loss for words, all of the interrogative questions fumbled into one new question as they slipped out of his mouth.

His little brother giggled. "It's so obvious!" When Lovino spun around and made to run for the door, Feliciano grabbed his wrist and held him back. "Wait, wait!" he begged, and Lovino paused. "Are you gonna tell him, fratello?"

"W-why should I?" Lovino murmured, looking to the ground. Then, once he caught his mistake, he hastily added, "And who even said I like 'em?"

Feliciano just smiled. "You should tell him. I bet it would make him really happy."

Lovino looked away and, when his brother freed him, fled.

* * *

**A/n **

Che - What  
Fratello - Brother  
Fratellino - Little brother  
Lovino - Romano/South Italy's Human name  
Ludwig - Germany's human name  
Antonio - Spain's human name  
Feliciano - Veneziano/North Italy's human name

Added the names just in case you didn't know :D

Here's chapter 3 already, for my loving and adoring fans! X3 Don't worry, I love this story as much as you do o0

Okay, I know the whole 'showering together' may seem a little...essh, but Feliciano is just that type of person to not care, and I could imagine he and Lovino having a close enough relationship to do this and talk about these sorts of things. And it was more common back in the day, which is, like, where they're from o0

Every single time Feliciano said something about he and Germany, I wanted to write a smilie face at the end of the sentence XD.

I was going to add more to this chapter, but I decided that it was good the way it was. Chapter 4 already on it's way! :D


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 **

He decided to wander around Germany's house, see what there was to see. He needed something to keep his mind off, well, _everything, _and useless meandering seemed like the best option available. Besides, he and Spain would probably stay here for a couple of days. They needed to go underground now, because of what he had done at the prison. He also needed time for his chest wound to heal, just enough so he could go back to doing normal things.

After a while of meandering, he found a room he assumed to be the kitchen. There was someone inside, wearing some sort of bonnet and an apron. Lovino watched the person carefully – just in case it was Antonio, his brother, or the potato-sucker – before cautiously stepping inside.

The person turned around to face Lovino the moment he stepped inside. "Oh, hello there, Romano-kun." The Japanese male bowed slightly before returning to his work.

Lovino began roaming around the kitchen, looking for something good to eat. Before he got very far, though, Honda stepped to his side and asked, "Is there something you're looking for?"

"Mmhm….tomatoes…" An insatiable urge for a tomato overtook him, and his mouth began to water.

"T-tomatoes? You mean you eat them _raw_?" Honda looked at him as though he were slightly crazy.

"Sure, why not?" Lovino sent Honda one of his famous quizzical looks, as though everyone ate tomatoes as he did.

Moments later, Lovino left the kitchen, his left hand holding a tomato he had already started digging into, his right hand bundling about a dozen. He'd be set for the rest of his stay.

As he ventured back into the main corridor, Lovino ran into Antonio. Lovino froze as his heart speed up. He swore he felt extra blood rushing to his cheeks. He suddenly felt very thirsty, and his palms were sweating again. And since when did he have a breathing problem?

"Ah, tomatoes!" Antonio cheered, taking one from Lovino's pile. Lovino scowled – he hated when people took from his food without asking – but his annoyance was completely forgotten when Antonio took a bite of that juicy tomato. Tomato juice ran down Antonio's tanned chin, and he licked it up with his _tongue. _ Lovino felt a shudder run through him, though he wasn't sure what that meant. Suddenly, Lovino was overcome with the desire to lick that tomato juice off Antonio's chin, and lick even more than that.

He wanted Antonio to do that to him, too. Maybe even more so.

Lovino stood there, transfixed, and stared at Antonio as he began to eat the tomato.

Antonio, who looked fully aware of what he was doing, watched Lovino the entire time. He ate slowly, then slowly went down for another bite, keeping his eyes locked with Lovino the entire time. Before he took a bite, Antonio _licked _the tomato, slowly, savoring the taste.

Lovino's heart rushed, and he lost track of the world around him. All he knew was that he wanted those lips, and he envied that tomato.

His heart panged, and next thing he knew, all of the tomatoes were on the ground. Lovino reached one arm out to Antonio – half in lust, half thoughtlessly – but quickly realized what he was doing and wrenched it away. He grabbed his hair as his head throbbed from fighting his heart too much, ran off to anywhere that was far away from Antonio.

He thought he heart Antonio call out his name, but he didn't care. He just kept running.

Somehow, Lovino found his way outside. Panting, he stepped out into the cool air and noticed Ludwig sitting nearby, smoking a cigarette.

Wincing in pain from his chest, Lovino contemplated whether or not it was a good idea to sit next to his brother's lover. Where was Feliciano, anyway? Those two were practically connected at the waist.

Lovino shook those useless thoughts from his mind and approached Germany. "Hey, potato-sucker!" He tried to force a smile as he took a seat beside him. Germany looked over for a second, then back to the sunrise before them. Lovino took a moment to think, weighing his options, before he began, "Your place is pretty nice."

Ludwig was silent a moment before he responded, "Ah."

A silence passed between them. Lovino blushed in embarrassment – something he was doing more and more of as of late – and kept his gaze focused on anything but Ludwig. He wanted to ask the German something, but where to start, where to start?

_Damn, _Lovino thought, _why does everything have to be so difficult? _

He stopped thinking things through and just spoke, for once. "I know about you and my brother."

Ludwig was silent a moment. "You're not going to kill me, are you?" He looked over to Lovino, who couldn't manage to meet his eye.

Lovino smirked at that. "Not yet," he promised. "So don't mess up."

Ludwig took a drag from the cigarette, then exhaled and responded, "I won't."

Lovino fell quiet once more, unsure of how to get to the topic he really wanted to bring up. He decided to try the no-thinking method again. "Um…You…You don't seem like someone who'd trust others very quickly," Lovino blurted, pulling at the grass beside him to give him something else to look at. "What I'm trying to get at, is, um – "

"You're wondering what made me trust your brother over everyone else?" Ludwig guessed, looking to him.

"How do you trust anyone at all?" Lovino blurted, looking to the German for the first time. "I mean, you've had to have a lot of people hurt you in the past, right? How can you still trust people when they've done that to you?" Finally finished, Lovino blushed, realizing the depth of his blurt.

Ludwig blinked, probably surprised, before he answered, "Sure, people have hurt me before. Yeah, I don't trust most." He turned back to the sunrise, took another drag from the cigarette. "But the people who hurt me in the past…None of them were Italia."

"W-what?" Lovino stuttered, surprised.

Ludwig turned to face him again. "What I mean is…I've been through hell. I've seen hardships and have been oppressed for no good reason. But the people who did that to me…They weren't your brother. Why should he have to suffer for something someone else did to me?" Ludwig paused, waiting for Lovino to say something. When he failed to, the German continued, "Do you understand?"

Lovino looked away, deep in thought. "I…think so. You mean I should give people a chance, even though I've been hurt before, because the people who deserve those chances never did anything to hurt me. So not trusting them would be unfair."

Ludwig nodded, looked back to the sunrise. "Exactly."

Lovino looked back to the sunrise, too, the new perspective bubbling through him. He hated to admit it, but Ludwig was completely right.

They sat like that for a long while, even after Ludwig had finished his cigarette. "Where's Feliciano?" Lovino asked at last.

"Asleep." Ludwig murmured. "I have to get back to him before he wakes up and realizes I'm not there…"

"You've got plenty of time, then," Lovino laughed. If there was one thing his fratellino loved, it was sleep.

"No," Ludwig murmured, "he'll wake up when he rolls over onto my spot and realizes I'm not there."

This caught Lovino offguard. For some reason, he hadn't expected his brother and Ludwig to be so…close. There was no better word. 'So much in love'?

That would have worked, too, but it was far too cliché for Lovino's tastes.

Ludwig stood then, and Lovino wordlessly followed. "If you're going to reveal to someone how you truly feel," he began, looked to the Italian, "forget your pride. It'll come back to you later, tenfold." Ludwig patted Lovino on the shoulder in a comradely gesture, and for once he didn't feel the need to wince at the touch.

Ludwig moved off without a word from the younger.

Lovino watched after him. _Spoken like a true Sergeant, _he thought.

Now he had more important matters to turn to. Where had Antonio gone?

Then he realized how early it was, and thought the Spaniard would be sleeping in his room. But which room was his?

Lovino knew the second the thought had occurred to him.

Antonio's room would, of course, be the same room as his.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Lovino opened the door to his room quietly, entered, closed it behind him.

Antonio was asleep on the bed, just as he'd expected, looking like he was in a tomato-induced coma. There were half-eaten tomatoes all around him; one was lodged into his mouth, one in his left hand. He even cradled one as he slept.

The sight forced a smile on Lovino's face. "Stupid Spaniard," he murmured, moving around the room as quietly as possible and putting the tomatoes in the draw of the nightstand next to the bed. Once finished, Lovino took the one from Antonio's left hand and bit into it, savoring the taste. It tasted like a normal tomato, but then it also had a hint of something Lovino could not identify. He guessed it to be Antonio's spit, was slightly grossed out, ate it anyways. Like he would let a perfectly good tomato go to waste!

Lovino took a seat on the bed, looked down at the sleeping Antonio as he ate the last of the tomato. He was tired, too, but for some reason he suddenly thought watching this man sleep was better than sleeping himself.

The real intention behind that decision was based on the fact that Antonio had a tendency to mumble his inner thoughts in his sleep. Lovino, who was terrified of telling Antonio what he really felt because he felt he would be rejected, decided now would be the opportune time to find out Antonio's real feelings.

At the moment, Antonio was mumbling something about tomatoes. Lovino decided to change that. He bent down close to Antonio's ear and whispered his own name.

Antonio let out a sigh, rolled away from Lovino. He started murmuring something in Spanish about tomatoes and love and Lovino, but it failed to make sense in a sentence.

Lovino threw the remains of his tomato to the ground, biting his lower lip. He decided to do the whole no-thinking thing, bent to Antonio's ear again and maneuvered so that he was hovering above the Spaniard, his arms that supported him resting on either side of Antonio's head. Antonio rolled again, so that he was on his back. They were face-to-face now.

Gulping back his fears, Lovino whispered, "Antonio…I think I...I...l-l–" He swallowed. He refused to say 'love.' He would not tell the other that he was in love with him. That was preposterous. "I…I…l-l-loo-ike you."

His heart raced. How stupid could he be? And how hard was it to say 'I like you' without that other stupid word interfering?

Lovino stared down at the other, who did not react to his confession at all. The idiot really was sleeping.

Frowning in disappointment, and yet relief, Lovino watched the elder, suspended above him as he was. He studied Antonio's face, that tan feature of his, and finally his gaze fell on the Spaniard's tender pink lips. They seemed soft – there was no sign of chapping or biting at all.

Lovino sat there above Antonio, stared down at his lips for a while. He really did wonder if they were as soft as they looked…

Curiosity won over rational thought, and Lovino found his left-hand finger running gently over Antonio's lips.

They were incredibly soft.

Lovino's heart raced, he ran out of breath, and his palms were moist again. His whole body was shaking. Antonio's lips were soft. He found his mouth watering when he wondered what Antonio's lips would feel like against his own. Lovino swallowed, but it did nothing.

He chest was hurting, but not from the cut.

Slowly, second by second, Lovino found Antonio's face to be getting closer and closer to his. As this happened, his heart raced faster and faster, and it was getting even harder to breathe. But he was almost there; the very tip of his nose was now touching Antonio's. Just another inch, and their lips would be connected.

This very thought made Lovino even more nervous.

Just as Lovino was closing his eyes and moving in for the kill, Antonio yawned loudly beneath him and stretched. Lovino's amber eyes snapped open, only to be staring back into Antonio's emerald.

_S-shit,_ Lovino thought, his nervousness quadrupling, if that was even possible.

A tense second passed between them before Antonio spoke.

"H-hello," he whispered, his cheeks flushed.

Lovino froze. What should he do? His normal self told him to pull away and leave, but he was so close…The Spaniard's scent was now intoxicating; it was the only thing Lovino could think of, the only thing composing the world right now. It compelled him.

He wanted to know if Antonio tasted the same way he smelled.

"F-forget your pride…" Lovino whispered Ludwig's advice, slowly moving even closer to Antonio's lips.

"Wha - ?" Their lips were brushing together when Antonio began, completely together when he was cut off.

Bursts of electricity ran through Lovino. It was like nothing he had ever felt before; his whole body was on fire suddenly, alive and beginning to act on its own. Those soft lips were the only thing occupying his thoughts, now, and he lived just to feel them against his own. Amazing tingles went down his spine and infected every part of his body with their giddy-like feelings, even down in his toes. His breathing now relied on the adrenaline rushing through his system and, because of that, his heart could barely pump fast enough.

A few seconds into the kiss, Lovino pulled away, realizing he could no longer breathe. He looked down on Antonio and realized that he had been holding the elder's chin in his left hand.

He also noticed, with glee, that Antonio had enjoyed the kiss as much as he had. His face was flushed, he was panting slightly, his eyes were half-lidded.

Lovino smiled, pleased, and ran the thumb of his left hand – which still held Antonio's chin – along the elder's delicious lips. He wanted, needed, more of those lips.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Lovino stared down at Antonio, both breathing a little heavily. His body urged him to do more, or to at least continue, but his mind told him enough was enough, and now was time for sleep.

Slowly, carefully, as to not ignite the flames of passion and lust raging through him, Lovino lay down on the bed beside Antonio. He stared up at the ceiling, his lips numb and mouth still watering. His right hand's fingers were entangled in his hair, and he was biting his lip, holding back a waterfall of emotion he simply could not deal with.

He felt Antonio take his free hand in one of his. "Romano," he whispered, "what's wrong?"

The tears were stinging his eyes, now, and he was biting his lip so hard it bled a little. He kept his mouth shut; if he spoke, the tears were sure to follow. And that was something he didn't want Antonio to see.

A moment passed. "Romano?" Antonio pressed, his voice glazed over with concern.

His reserve snapped. Quickly rolling onto his side to face Antonio, Lovino took his free hand and held both of Antonio's. Their foreheads were touching when Lovino whispered, "Don't leave me. Please, god, don't leave me."

And the tears flowed, freely and completely, as they used to when he was little and terrified of something.

* * *

When he woke up some time later, he was met with the warmth of Antonio's body all around him. Antonio was holding him close, his head just above Lovino's. A peaceful sensation was cradling Lovino, too; even though his eyes were a little foggy from the tears, he had a general feeling that everything would turn out alright. That as long as Antonio held him like this, there was nothing to fear.

Lovino craned his neck up a little, and his eyes met Antonio's. His breath held.

"Hi," Antonio whispered with a soft smile.

"H-hi," Lovino stuttered as he looked away and blushed. He fought for something to change the topic with and looked back up to Antonio when he thought of it. "How long have you been up?"

"A couple of hours," Antonio admitted. "I didn't want to leave you."

Lovino's heart panged at the reference and emotion behind his words, buried his head in Antonio's chest, which was still noticeably damp from his tears the night before. He wrapped his arms around Antonio and held him tightly.

One of Antonio's hands entangled its fingers in his hair, and he began humming an old Spanish lullaby that always used to calm Lovino down. Lovino took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, letting the music wash over him. It was a song that had no words, and yet it had the most effect on him.

As Antonio hummed, he rubbed Lovino's head gently, as he always used to. It really was like they had gone back centuries, to when none of this stupid relationship crap existed between them. Lovino sighed again and pulled away a bit to face the Spaniard when the song was finished.

He had looked up to Antonio, but he had nothing to say.

So they stared into each other's eyes.

The longer Lovino stared, the more he began seeing what once was – Antonio always looking after him, no matter how Lovino treated him – and what could be. Lovino looked into those emeralds and saw peace, hope, and love.

Lots of love.

This scared Lovino a little, but he was determined not to show it. He would no longer be the crybaby. He created enough problems for Antonio as it was. He would not be the one to make the relationship complicated, overemotional, and tough. Antonio deserved better than that.

Antonio gently rested his fingertips on Lovino's cheek. "There's so much hurt in your eyes," he whispered, sounding hurt himself. Lovino's heart jumped in anxiety and guilt; he looked away without realizing he was doing so. "Romano," the elder whispered, causing the younger to meet his gaze once more. "don't worry about anything anymore. I'll make you forget that pain."

Lovino's heart jumped once more at such a romantic declaration, and a fierce blush overtook his face when Antonio's lips landed on his.

Again, his body felt like it was made of fireworks, bursting with color and noise in every which direction. Without realizing it, Lovino grasped Antonio's shirt like his life depended on it, pressed his lips against Antonio's. He was instantly aware of the other's scent once more, and again it was the only thing he was aware of. Those soft lips were his entire world; he lived for them to be connected with his.

They broke, panting, Lovino blushing and gripping Antonio's shirt as tightly as he could. Antonio looked at him and licked his lips with a smile on his face. "Where'd'ja get so good at that?" Lovino went redder than, yes, a tomato and tried to focus on releasing Antonio's shirt. "And you taste so good," Antonio continued, his voice huskier now. Lovino looked up from the other's shirt in surprise, only to find that they were millimeters apart once more.

Close enough to kiss.

"W-what do I taste like?" Lovino gushed.

"Perfection," Antonio whispered, their lips brushing together.

Lovino shook all over in nervousness and excitement, his breathing incredible.

Carefully, Lovino bridged the gap between their lips.

He felt something different when they kissed, this time. The same fireworks-sensation throughout his body, but there was something different in the kiss itself. It was softer, but it felt like there was more passion and affection, less lust.

He couldn't tell which he liked better.

When they broke again, Antonio smiled and ran a finger along Lovino's cheek. If there was something bigger than a firework that could burst throughout his body, it did. "You know," Antonio began, his eyes fully open for the first time since they woke up, "if I go too far, you could always punch me or something…"

Lovino couldn't help but chuckle. "I'll keep that in mind," he promised.

Then, to break the mood perfectly, Antonio's stomach growled loudly. He laughed and sat up, and Lovino silently followed.

"I'm huuuungry!" Antonio shouted as he stretched the sleepies away. Lovino yawned and stretched the night away, admitted to himself that he was hungry, too, though that hadn't been on the list of his priorities just then.

They made their way to the kitchen, regardless, and Antonio took a lazy seat as Lovino scrounged for something to eat.

What he really wanted was something with tomatoes in it.

He heard Antonio whistling something behind him, tried to ignore the tune he knew so well.

Feliciano walked into the room then, yawning and wearing nothing but a way-too-big shirt. It was green and looked army-style – Lovino guessed it to be Ludwig's.

"Buon giorno, fratello," Feliciano yawned again, as though he had gotten no sleep.

Considering just how possible that was, Lovino decided to move his thoughts far, far away from that.

"Buon giorno," Lovino murmured, looking away from his pretty-much naked brother. Ludwig's jacket covered about halfway down to his thighs, which left a lot to be easily accessed.

Lovino cringed. Was there any way he could look at his brother without thinking so intently on his love life?

"Are you looking for breakfast?" Feliciano, once awoken – which was difficult enough in itself – usually came to his senses quickly, reverting back to his original, ever-so-hyper self. "I can make you guys something," he continued.

At the same moment that Lovino murmured that wasn't necessary, Antonio sang that it would be wonderful. Sighing, Lovino gave in, knowing that Feliciano was going to cook the meal anyways, no matter what.

Lovino took a seat next to Antonio, who smiled, sending a fierce blush across his cheeks. He looked away in embarrassment, and a moment later Antonio grabbed one of his hands in his, deepening his blush. Lovino looked over to the Spaniard again, who was staring at him and trying his best to giggle silently. If it was possible, Lovino's blush deepened. He looked away again, tried fruitlessly to steady his breathing and frantic heart.

"Fratello, did you two _do it_ last night?" Feliciano asked happily in Italian as he set the plates of food on the table and joined them.

"N-no, we did not!" Lovino hissed back in he and his brother's native tongue, knowing full well that Antonio could not understand a word they were saying. "I'm not as _loose _as you !"

Feliciano only laughed. "It's called having _fun_, fratello. You just watch. You'll do it once and won't be able to get enough of it." This caused Lovino to choke on his breakfast in embarrassment.

"Waaaahh!" Antonio wailed in English. "Stop talking when I can't understand what you're saying!"

Feliciano giggled again. "Sorry, Spagna!" The main language was back to English once more, with bits and pieces of Italian thrown in on the side, as usual.

Antonio did a double-take. "Is that how my name is said in Italian?" His voice was serious now, almost…almost husky, with lust or something.

"What, 'Spagna'?" Lovino asked with a raised brow.

Antonio licked his lips. "Say that again," he whispered in Lovino's ear, causing the younger to choke on his food again. He was ready to give up on eating this morning.

"No! Definitely not!" He couldn't control the fierce blush that usurped his cheeks. Antonio was just too close; his voice was sending threatening shivers down Lovino's spine.

Feliciano just laughed, enjoyed his breakfast.

A tired-looking Honda and a shirtless Ludwig entered the kitchen then, grabbed themselves breakfast and sat at the table as well.

The entire time Ludwig was standing, Lovino stared. He felt Antonio stare too.

He had never known the German would have such a perfectly-sculpted body, even if it _was _to be expected from someone like him.

A silent moment passed before Feliciano looked from Ludwig to the gaping Lovino and Antonio and playfully shouted, "Are you staring down my man?"

"Ah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Antonio and Lovino screeched as one, holding each other in fright.

Feliciano giggled. "Aww, look, you're hugging!"

Lovino looked to Antonio, who looked to him, and immediately pushed him off.

"Romano, you're so mean to me!" Antonio wailed playfully, lightly hitting the younger, who just smirked and shrugged him off.

"Guess what, guess what?" Feliciano sang after they all had quieted down for a moment, actually taking the time to eat their meal.

"Hmm?" Lovino asked, his mouth full of food.

"We're going to a festival today!" Feliciano clapped his hands together excitedly.

"A…festival?"

"Ah, ah! And Germany's gonna be in a _parade!_ Isn't that exciting?"

Ludwig sighed, leaned back in his seat. "Actually, I have to go soon…"

"Aww, really?" Feliciano sobbed, looking to the blonde.

"Ah, the parade starts at noon…" Ludwig looked around apologetically. "But later on,"-the smile on his face was devious—"later on we drink and eat 'till our stomachs fall out!" He pounded the table in his enthusiasm.

Feliciano smiled and clapped his hands together, lightly, once more. "Ve!"

"Ah…" Honda mumbled, looking to the table dismally. "I'll stay home and clean…"

"It already _sparkles _in here!" Lovino cried.

"It's not clean enough…" Honda mumbled. "And I have a low tolerance for alcohol anyway…"

Ludwig stood, cleared his place. Feliciano followed him like a puppy dog. Lovino, in reaction, was partially disgusted and partially jealous.

Yes, jealous.

He wanted to be able to pine after someone so shamlessly, to put all of his emotions right out there on his sleeve, in plain view, for everyone to see and be completely unafraid of the repercussions. To a certain extent, he envied this of his fratellino.

Ludwig and Feliciano left for their room to change, and Honda left as well, mumbling something about the mess in his room. Which probably wasn't a mess at all.

That left Lovino and Antonio alone in the kitchen.

Just being alone with the Spaniard made his heart pick up speed, which was a little unnerving.

Antonio whistled lightly, took Lovino's hand in his and rubbed the skin was his thumb gently. Lovino bit his lower lip in nervousness, forced himself to admit that Antonio's small gesture was enough to set him off.

Lovino swallowed, incredibly nervous and embarrassed because of the scenes running through his mind.

"Romano," Antonio whispered in his ear. Lovino looked to him a little, gulped. Antonio took his chin gently in his hand, forced him to look into his eyes. The forced eye contact only made Lovino more nervous, and he knew it showed. "Stop being so nervous."

Antonio kissed him then, but it was so wonderful no thoughts of escape crossed his mind, even though they were in a place that was likely to get them caught. The only thing running through Lovino's mind, now, was the taste of Antonio's lips and how perfect they were.

Those wonderful sparks shot through his system, igniting everything. He was suddenly hyper-aware of himself, and he swore he could feel Antonio's pulse through his lips.

The world melted away again; the only thing in existence was what they had between them. Lovino couldn't breathe, but he didn't care. His free hand was clenching Antonio's shirt, trying to pull him closer than they already were. He felt Antonio pushing against his lips in an authoritative way, and surprisingly enough, he didn't mind much.

Antonio's tongue brushed against his lips, surprising him so much he gasped and opened his eyes.

When did they close?

Antonio opened his eyes, too, and they separated enough for the elder to whisper the younger's name. Lovino grunted, his own thoughts lost to the moment, took the hand Antonio had been rubbing and placed it on the elder's knee so that he could lean in closer.

Lovino felt his eyes close again, felt Antonio's tongue brush against his lips lightly. Lovino opened his mouth slowly, unsure. His grip on Antonio's pants and shirt tightened, the knuckles of his fists turning white. It was too good, way too good…

Antonio's tongue slithered into his mouth, slowly explored the geography. The Spaniard's tongue ran along his teeth, his cheek, the roof of his mouth, and finally his tongue.

His _tongue. _

Too embarrassed and deprived of oxygen, Lovino backed out of the kiss, gasping for breath. His half-lidded eyes met Antonio's, his erratic breathing matched Antonio's.

They were unified.

Lovino stared at Antonio for a moment, studied how his tongue hung freely out of his mouth, how he was blushing a little, how he panted, how a light layer of sweat collected at his brow.

As their breathing slowed, Antonio pulled back and stretched, though he kept his eyes locked with Lovino's.

Seconds passed until the moment was finally broken by the appearance of Feliciano and Ludwig, who looked to be fresh from the shower.

"Ve!" Feliciano called out with a stretch. "Andiamo, andiamo!" He and Ludwig began to head for the door that was off the kitchen and lead outside. "We're gonna be late!"

Antonio and Lovino stood, trailed behind the other two.

Without realizing what he was doing, Lovino took Antonio's hand in his. His rational mind kicked in and a fierce blush overtook him, screaming at him to relinquish Antonio's hand.

But he didn't, because his hand felt whole when it rested in Antonio's.

Antonio looked to him, a little blush gracing his cheeks, and smiled.

* * *

**A/n **

**Sorry for the wait on this one, but I think with all the "awwwww" moments, it was worth it :D.  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Lovino and Antonio followed Ludwig and Feliciano as they made their way to the center of Berlin, Antonio occasionally swinging their entangled hands as he walked. Lovino, though he blushed like mad, did nothing in objection. Antonio's hand was soft, and Lovino enjoyed the feeling he got when Antonio rubbed his thumb in a circular motion on the skin between his thumb and forefinger.

Ludwig parted ways with the rest of the group just before they hit the main street the parade would march through. There were tons of Germans in military outfits – as was he – waiting for him.

"Germany, Germany!" Feliciano cried, pulling at his sleeve before he walked away. "Bacio! Bacio!"

Ludwig rolled his eyes with a smile, consented. "Hold this for me," he whispered, taking the iron cross necklace from around his neck and putting it on Feliciano's.

"Ah, Germany's necklace? A-are you sure?"

Ludwig smiled, toyed with his curl affectionately. "It looks better on you."

They parted.

When Ludwig was out of view, Feliciano turned on his heels to face Lovino and Antonio. "Ve, let's go find a good spot!" He began walking down the street at a somewhat rapid pace, though it was easy for Antonio and Lovino to keep up with him; Feliciano's 'rapid' was a normal speed for most.

They settled on a spot, took a seat on the street curb. Antonio was to Lovino's left, Feliciano to his right.

"I'm so excited!" Antonio shouted. "I love parades, 'specially army parades! They getcha all pumped!"

"Ah, ah!" Feliciano agreed. "Germany's the best!"

Moments later, the crowd of Germans on the street silenced. Off to the distance, snare drums could be heard, playing a very catchy marching beat. Antonio and Feliciano immediately began tapping and pounding their thighs to the beat, though Lovino refused to be won over so easily.

The parade made its way down the street, chanting in German: "One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Unity and justice and freedom!" This repeated until the parade reached right where the three of them sat, when Ludwig – who had been leading the huge display of men – stepped forward a ways, faced the soldiers, and began counting again. At five, the entire assembly shouted the number and threw their rifles into the air, in a perfect swirling manner, before expertly catching them once more.

Trumpets played in a catchy manner, and the men were stomping one-two, one-two as they ran through the routine of displaying their skill.

Ludwig turned away from his men, began chanting;

"_Something like justice  
Or something like faith  
Or something like love  
Are things I always fight for." _

The concession counted off again, twice, then chanted in unison:

"_I am made in Germany!  
Black and red and yellow are our pride!  
Our passion!  
Unity and Justice and Freedom!" _

By now, Lovino had to admit he was thumping his free hand against his thigh in accordance to the tune. It was too catchy; his heart was fluttering with the excitement of the instruments and the bravado of the men. It was too easy to get caught up in the whole thing.

"_Hardship, endeavoring, and loyalty is our pride!  
The standards of our mothers'!  
I am made in Germany!_

_Unity and Justice and Freedom!  
One! Two! Three! Four! Five! _

_Advance over any obstacle!  
Hail to the German blood!  
A noble green line is our pride!  
The water's surface of our fathers'!_

_Unity and Justice and Freedom!  
One! Two! Three! Four! Five!" _

Then the procession began making their way down the street once more, Germans on both sides – along with a certain Spaniard and Northern Italian – cheering like mad.

Lovino, in the excitement, hadn't noticed that he had jumped to his feet along with Antonio and Feliciano. He wasn't cheering – that would be too embarrassing – but he was definitely feeling the music as it coursed through his body, electrifying him with excitement and pride.

And he wasn't even German.

When the parade finally passed from where they stood, Feliciano turned to Lovino and Antonio and said, "Wasn't that _awesome_?" He clapped his hands together in excitement.

"Ah, ah!" Antonio agreed, just as excited, his hand swinging both his and Lovino's. "Ludwig was incredible! And the army! And all the rifle-tossing! Best inspirational movement I've seen in _years!_"

"Ehi, fratello, what'd you think?" Feliciano asked gleefully.

Lovino smirked. "I have to admit…It was amazing."

"Yay!" Feliciano cheered. "I'm so glad you liked it!"

Lovino ticked his head to the side. "Why?"

"I wrote it!"

"Whaaaaaat?" Lovino and Antonio cried at once.

"Si, si, and I choreographed it all too!" Feliciano was tapping his fingers together almost uncontrollably now.

Lovino was amazed.

Only for an instant, before reality hit in.

"F-fratellino," he began dismally, "w-why don't we do something like that for our _own _country…"

"Hmm? We don't need it!" Feliciano answered happily. Lovino looked up to him, curious. "Our motivator is _pasta!_"

Lovino let his head drop. He should have known.

"We're going to meet Germany when he's done in an hour," Feliciano announced. "So let's wait and eat at that restaurant across the street! I love it!"

He ran across the street, unbridled without Ludwig, and Lovino rushed after him, shouting, "Hey, stupid, don't just run off like that! I don't care if it's only across the street!"

He forgot that Antonio's hand was still in his and that he was essentially dragging Antonio along behind him until he made it to the other side and had to relinquish Antonio's hand to pull at his brother's cheeks. "Don't you ever do that again! Just because that potato-sucker isn't here doesn't mean you have to act stupid!"

"Ah, fratello!" Feliciano cried, "That hurts!"

"Hey, don't fight you two!" Antonio pleaded. "Let's go inside and eat, si?"

Lovino pulled his brother's cheeks once more for good measure and consented with a grunt.

The minute they set foot inside, they were greeted with welcoming shouts from everyone within. Feliciano happily greeted them back, and threw himself into the fray. They were seated warmly, and seconds later a waiter dropped the largest platter of pasta Lovino had ever seen before his brother.

"And," the waiter added, diving into one of the pockets of his apron, "since you Italians are weird, I even remembered to bring you a spoon."

"Yay, now I can eat it properly!" Feliciano cheered, immediately scooping pasta onto the spoon and then twisting it onto his fork.

The waiter then turned to Lovino and Antonio. "And anything you two want, as much as you want, on the house. I can tell you're his brother." The waiter winked.

"Ah, well…" Lovino began, completely unsure. "We, uh, don't – "

"Do you have churros?" Antonio interrupted him excitedly. "Or something with lots and lots of tomatoes in it?"

"Actually, we have both. Ludwig told us beforehand that you'd be here. I'll get everything." The waiter walked off, leaving behind a cheering Antonio.

Seconds later, the waiter returned with a platter full of churros, and another platter full of tomatoes. Another waiter came up behind him, his hands full of three oversized jugs of beer. Yet another waiter followed, with the largest pizza Lovino ever had the pleasure of laying his eyes on. There was so much food, another table had to be dragged over to fit everything.

As Lovino dove into the pizza and tomatoes simultaneously, he growled at his fratellino, who had just picked up the mug of beer. "You better not."

The mug stopped centimeters before Feliciano's lips. "Whyyyyyyy?" He whined.

"You know you have a low tolerance! And I am definitely _not _carrying you back."

"One can't hurt!" Feliciano rebelled, putting the mug to his lips and downing the entire thing in a manner of minutes.

Lovino couldn't help but stare, open-mouthed in shock.

Around them, Germans cheered for Feliciano, and another mug was immediately put before him, which he immediately began work on.

Where oh where was that damned Kraut bastard when they needed him?

From his right, Antonio laughed like there was no tomorrow, slammed something solid onto the table. "Ah, Ita, you always were funny!"

Feliciano laughed like there was no tomorrow, too.

Lovino looked over to Antonio in shock, half-hoping he wasn't right.

But, of course, he was.

Antonio was already beyond wasted.

"Not you too!" Lovino cried, dropping his food and shaking Antonio roughly.

Antonio just laughed, hiccupped, and stuffed more churros into his mouth.

"I thought I told you _not _to give him any!" A familiar voice scolded from behind. Everyone fell silent.

Relief washed over Lovino. "Ah, Ludwig, Ludwig – "

He was cut off when Ludwig continued, "You were supposed to wait until I got here to bring out the beer!" Everyone cheered, and a whole keg was brought out.

Lovino let his head drop. It was all pointless…

"You know," a stuttering Feliciano said to Lovino as he fought to sit upright, "you and Antonio…You know what you need?" He hiccupped and paused throughout his speech, but somehow Lovino still managed to comprehend what his brother was saying.

Without waiting for an acknowledgement from Lovino, Feliciano continued, "You two need to _fuck!_" He slammed another empty mug on the table.

Lovino, blushing ferociously, attempted to rebuke, but Feliciano shouted over him. "You need to fuck long and hard, damnit! L-look at…G-g-germany and I…" He slammed his hand down on Ludwig's shoulder, who didn't seem to notice in the least. "W-w-w-we were pretty…ack…awkqu…odd at first…b-b-b-b-but then we fucked. And _it was great!_ You…should try it."

Antonio, who was currently rubbing his hand up and down Lovino's arm like it was the most amazing thing, mumbled something in agreement and rubbed his face in Lovino's arm. Lovino was extremely thankful that he was less flamboyant than Feliciano when trashed.

After an agonizing while, Ludwig announced it was time for them to leave. Miraculously enough, the German didn't seem to be effected by the alcohol at all, even though he had drunk far more than Antonio and Feliciano combined.

As they stumbled outside, Feliciano announced he was drunk – big surprise – and continued to fall over whenever he took a step forwards. Ludwig threw him over his back, so that Feliciano's front was dangling over Ludwig's back. Stumbling along behind was Lovino, who was attempting to help Antonio along. It wasn't going well.

After a long period of walking in silence, Feliciano hiccupped and looked up in Lovino's general direction. Although it was nighttime now, Lovino was still able to make out his brother and Ludwig's form, thanks to the full moon. "A-ah, fratello…" The younger began, pushing against the crook of Ludwig's back to straighten himself a bit.

They seemed to be sobering up a bit, which was good. The nations sobered faster than normal humans, which was even better. "Hmm?" Lovino whispered in response.

"Y-you should tell him how you really feel," Feliciano finished in Italian.

Even though he was sure Antonio had no idea what they were talking about, Lovino felt his cheeks heat up in response. He looked away and mumbled, "S-shut up. You…don't know what you're saying."

Feliciano let himself collapse, dangling freely over Ludwig's back. Perhaps he really _didn't _know what he had said.

* * *

Finally, they made it home, as the sun rose. Lovino let Antonio drop onto the bed, and in seconds the Spaniard was asleep.

Lovino was about to crawl into bed, too, but then realized that there was no room for him. Groaning, he left their room and took the couch in the foyer, partially glad he didn't have to share a bed with the drunkard.

_You should tell him how you really feel. _

Feliciano's words echoed through his mind, causing him to bite his lip as his heart raced and cheeks blushed. How did he really feel, anyways? What was there to tell?

Only time would reveal all.

* * *

**A/n **

**Translations: **  
**Bacio - Kiss **

**I do not condone alcohol usage! **

**...It was just the only way to keep a German celebration in character XD**

**The song I used is not mine. It's one of Ludwig's Character songs. Obviously I tweaked the lyrics a bit, left some out...meh. **

**So...no fluff in this chapter, 'sept for hints at the very end of something awesome to come 8D**

**Now you all have something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

_Tell him how I really feel. Tell him how I really feel. How I really feel. _

Immediately upon wakening, these thoughts assaulted Lovino like a swarm of angry bees. Feliciano's voice echoed through his mind, just behind the angry swarm, exciting it further.

Although he was awake now, Lovino remained on the couch, kept his eyes half-lidded. He let the maddening thoughts wash over him, tried to make a meaning of them passively.

How on earth was he supposed to tell Antonio how he really felt, when he was completely unsure of those feelings? He had no idea what he really felt for Antonio.

Tentatively, Lovino began to assess what he felt for the Spaniard.

Whenever he thought of Antonio, his heart leapt into his throat and his breathing faltered.

Whenever Antonio was around, his cheeks reddened and the rest of the world melted away.

Whenever they held hands, it was as though anything could happen, but everything would be okay, as long as Lovino's hand rested in his.

The thought of Antonio being happy with someone else nearly drove Lovino over the edge with jealousy. But he had always felt that way.

When they kissed, the rest of the world melted away and his body reacted as though it had never been touched before; his heart sped up, his breathing became uncontrollable, he shook, his palms became a little sweaty, he never wanted it to stop.

Not to mention all the body parts, er, down south, that reacted too.

But what did all of that _mean_?

Lovino groaned in frustration, sat up right, stretched. It was time he consulted his fratellino.

* * *

He found Feliciano outside with Ludwig, who was smoking.

"Ve! Buon Giorno, fratello!" Feliciano greeted, standing and forcing a hug with Lovino.

"Ah, um, buon giorno," Lovino murmured, lightly hugging his brother back. He looked to Ludwig, who was still seated, and nodded in acknowledgement. "Um, fratello," Lovino began, unsure, as they back away, "how are you?"

"Hmm? I'm fine."

"Sobered up a bit?"

"Ah, yeah, mostly. I just have a headache, is all."

"Oh, good…Listen…do you think we can talk for a bit? In, uh, private?" Lovino looked to Ludwig again, this time with an apologetic look. Ludwig just shrugged, looked out to the morning sky.

"Ah, ah," Feliciano agreed, "of course, fratello!" He turned to Ludwig, then, kissed him goodbye, and turned back to Lovino. "Are we gonna take a walk?"

"Ah…si." Feliciano nodded and began to move off, Lovino following.

They walked like that in an awkward silence, Lovino completely unsure of how to start the conversation or where it would lead. He never had such a problem speaking with his fratellino before, about anything.

But, then again, he had never needed to ask Feliciano's advice on such a topic. He never had the need to.

After a long moment, Lovino forced himself to begin. "Mmh, um, Feli…Are you, uh…Or, what do you…Um, how do you…" Lovino sighed heavily, looked to the ground in frustration. Why was such a simple question so difficult?

"Fratello," Feliciano sang, gently resting either of his hands on Lovino's shoulders. Lovino shamefully looked up into his brother's eyes as he continued, "you know you can tell or ask me anything!"

Lovino looked away, completely embarrassed, and sighed. "Yeah, I know."

Feliciano let one of his hands drop and draped the other arm around Lovino's shoulders. "What's troubling you, big brother?" They slowly began to move on.

Unsure, Lovino bit his lower lip and looked away, deep in thought. "Well…you might not remember, but one the way home…last night, you…you told me to –"

"–Tell Big Brother Spain how you really feel." Feliciano finished, causing Lovino to look his brother in the eyes. "I remember."

Lovino swallowed. "Ah, yeah. Umm…I wanted to know…what is…uh, love?"

Feliciano stopped, a confused look on his face, and turned to Lovino completely, letting his arm drop. "What do you mean, fratello?"

Blushing in embarrassment, Lovino looked away again and forced himself to continue. "I mean, uh, what does it…feel like?" He looked up to Feliciano again, though he couldn't keep his gaze looked on with his brother's.

His younger brother smiled, took his hand, and continued on. Lovino followed silently. "Ah, love!" Feliciano sang. He was quiet for a moment before continuing, "Love. Well. When you're in love…It's the best thing you've ever felt. Whenever you're with the person, it's like you're body suddenly comes alive after being asleep for a long, long time. You feel like you're experiencing things you've never experienced before. And when that person touches you…Even a little touch, like a hug or something…It's like…like…"

"…Like fireworks go off in your body?" Lovino finished tentatively.

"Ve, exactly!" Feliciano answered with a smile. "And when you do more than just simple touches, like kiss or something, it's like you're in heaven, and the rest of the world doesn't even exist anymore."

To this, Lovino had no response but a gulp.

"And sometimes you think about the other person with someone besides you…And you just get so sad it feels like your heart's been ripped out. Then, when they tell you they love you and they'd never leave you…It's like they're speaking the words that have been written on your heart, that no one but they can read and say…You just feel so _whole_."

Lovino gulped again, felt his hand clenching around Feliciano's. "Feliciano…I'm…scared." When he finally admitted this, it was like a weight was lifted, only for another, heavier one to replace it. They stopped walking again, and Feliciano turned to face his brother. Gulping, Lovino continued, "W-what if Antonio doesn't…doesn't…"

He couldn't finish that sentence. There was just no way.

"But he _does_, fratello," Feliciano whispered, cupping Lovino's cheek with his free hand. Teary-eyed, Lovino looked into Feliciano's eyes, and Feliciano continued, "Can't you see the way he looks at you? Haven't you noticed the look in his eyes he gets when you're around, or when you're with him? You make him_ so _happy, brother…He definitely loves you."

"T-then why…why doesn't he tell me?" Lovino whispered, barely able to think of the possible reasons.

"He probably wants to hear you say it first." Feliciano reasoned. "Maybe he's as nervous and worried as you are."

Lovino looked up, frowning. "Who said I'm nervous and worried?"

Feliciano only smiled, patted his elder brother's cheek. "You're in love, fratello."

This caught Lovino off guard. "W-what? No I'm not! Definitely, definitely not!"

Feliciano laughed, and they began making their way back. "Promise me something, fratello?" Feliciano began after they were silent a moment.

"Hmm?"

"Hurry up and tell him. I want to see you happy."

* * *

Finally, they made it back. Heart racing, Lovino made his way to he and Antonio's room, sure the Spaniard would still be asleep.

_Love, _he thought as he opened the door to his room, _Feliciano says I'm in love. _

It just didn't sound right.

But it was possible to tell Antonio how he really felt without using that word, right? How hard could it be?

Antonio wasn't on the bed, but Lovino could hear the shower in the adjoining bathroom running. "Hey, Spanish bastard!" Lovino yelled, banging on the bathroom door. "Hurry and get out of there! I have to tell you something!"

"Ah, okay!" Antonio squeaked from within. "Just a second!"

Lovino rolled his eyes, waited at the door. As he waited, thoughts of Antonio, wet and naked, began to drift through his mind.

Then his nose was bleeding.

And, of course, Antonio chose that second to open the bathroom door.

And, of course, Antonio was wearing nothing but a towel, and he was still soaking wet.

"Romano, your nose is bleeding!" Antonio cried, wiping the blood off Lovino's lip.

"Hey, don't do that! I'm fine! Really! I got it!"

There was a struggle, leading to the two of them on the floor, Antonio landing on top of Lovino.

After a second, Antonio raised himself a bit, running one hand through his hair.

Lovino's heart stopped. He swore it.

There was a tense moment, the two of them just staring at the other, before Lovino slowly came back to his senses. "Ah, hey, get off me! Stupid Spaniard! Get off!" He pushed Antonio off enough so that he could sit upright.

Both sitting upright in the doorway to the bathroom, Antonio asked with a smile, "So, what was it you wanted to tell me?"

Lovino's heart gushed once more in nervousness. So this was how it was going to pan out. But then again, things never went as planned.

_How do I put this…? _Lovino thought, studying the elder for a moment.

Thoughts he did not want to acknowledge at the moment began to drift through his mind, so he forced a tight hug with Antonio, hoping that would help clear his mind enough to say what he had planned.

Hugging wasn't a help at all, because it only brought a beautiful sense of peace and happiness. It reminded Lovino that, as long as Antonio was there for him, the whole world could melt away, and it wouldn't matter. If Antonio was there, everything would be okay.

Lovino took a deep breath, inhaling the Spaniard's earthy scent and loving every ounce of it.

"…I love you," he whispered on the exhale, without thinking.

Reality, and the gravity of his words, slammed back to him when Antonio responded, "What?"

"Ah, no, that's not what I meant at all! I didn't mean that!" Lovino gasped, backing off of Antonio and looking everywhere but at the Spaniard. "I didn't mean that at all! That's not what I wanted to say!"

"That's too bad," Antonio cut off his babbling.

"What? Huh? Why?" Lovino gushed, looking into Antonio's eyes.

"Because I love you, too." Antonio responded, his lips crashing onto Lovino's.

* * *

**A/n**

**I think this is my favorite chapter so far.  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Electrifying sparks ran through him, quickening his pulse and getting in the way of his breathing. He barely noticed anymore; it was becoming somewhat of a routine.

It was when they broke for air that Lovino realized he was tearing up a little. He wiped the corners of his eyes quickly, not wanting Antonio to point out that he was crying yet again.

Antonio loved him.

Antonio loved him.

Antonio _loved _him.

The Spaniard laughed with glee and forced a tight hug with the Italian. "I've wanted to tell you that for _so long_!" There was nothing but pure delight resounding through his voice.

Lovino, shocked, craned his neck up to look at Antonio. "R-really?" He stuttered, somehow managing to look Antonio in the eyes. When Antonio nodded, Lovino continued, "H-how long?"

"Hmm," Antonio looked up to the ceiling in thought, then back to Lovino with a smile, "Probably since day one." He tapped Lovino's nose like he always used to when Lovino was a kid.

"Wait a second!" Lovino gushed when reality struck. "That's pedophilia! That's gross, you stupid jerk!" Lovino pushed him away and pounded him lightly.

Antonio only laughed. "It was a different kind of love, then," he explained when Lovino finally ceased fire. There was a pause in which Antonio looked up again in thought before he continued, "I think I really _loved _you – you know, this way – around the time when you united with your brother. You were basically gone all the time; I never go to see you. So I guess that's when I really noticed that I loved you for real, because I missed and thought about you so much…It was hard living without you."

Lovino, in shock, just stared at the elder. His unification with Feliciano was around a century ago…Which, granted, wasn't long for a country…

But it was probably painfully long for a country in love.

"That…long?" Lovino managed. When Antonio nodded, he stumbled on, "Why…didn't you tell me?" Thinking on it, Lovino realized that he probably would have accepted Antonio's feelings, even then. Even though he had never acknowledged his own feelings before now.

"I hinted at it back then," the Spaniard answered with a smile, "but whenever I did, you punched me in the stomach."

"O-oh," Lovino gloomed, his head dropping, "sorry…"

Antonio only patted his head, ruffled his hair affectionately. "I have you now. That's all that matters." A second passed, then Antonio moved his hand slowly and deliberately to the curl in Lovino's hair. He ran his forefinger and thumb down its length, eliciting an excited cry from the younger.

"A-antonio, d-don't…" Lovino whispered, almost completely aroused already. His hair was one of his most sensitive places. "A-ah…"

"You mean I can finally touch this?" Antonio sang, his mouth right beside Lovino's ear.

"N-no, y…you can't…gah…" Lovino tried to ward the elder off, but when Antonio licked and nibbled at his earlobe, he was defenseless. His hands clenched themselves into tight fists, though he barely noticed the pain. Lovino clenched his eyes shut, fought his hardest against the moan that was building up in the back of his throat.

It was useless. He moaned in pleasure. "Nngah, damnit, you…stupid jerk…stop…" He was telling Antonio to stop, but every part of his body screamed for the Spaniard to continue.

Antonio backed off a second later, cupped Lovino's face in either of his hands and rested his forehead against Lovino's. "You're beautiful, you know," the Spaniard began, knocking Lovino into a more solid state of reality. "I can't get enough of you…"

Lovino went scarlet again – he was getting used to the tightness he felt in his cheeks as they heated up – and slowly began to realize what was panning out before him.

Antonio, who was basically naked, was messing with one of his most sensitive areas and declaring love.

Antonio, who was _basically naked…_

_Basically naked! _

"H-hey," Lovino stuttered, backing up a bit, "you're half-naked! You…jerk! You pervert! Put some clothes on already!" He managed to climb onto his feet and turn his back.

Antonio only laughed behind him. He heard the sound of the door closing and cheerful Spanish whistling.

Lovino looked around for a moment, thinking things over. Antonio made moves on him, quite often. How far did he want to go with the Italian, and how far was the younger willing to go?

With a sigh, Lovino chewed his bottom lip and ran a hand through his hair, fruitless. He didn't know the answers to either of those questions, which was frustrating. Knowing how far he himself was willing to go should have been a no-brainer, a definite. It was a plain, black-and-white sort of question; a question that could be answered with a yes or a no.

Was he willing to go all the way with Antonio?

Lovino thought about what 'all the way' entailed and felt himself blushing fiercely.

No, he was definitely not ready to go that far.

But he loved Antonio, and Antonio loved him. Didn't two people in love have sex? Wasn't that supposed to be the ultimate declaration, or something?

But…They had been together for what, a couple of days? Wasn't there supposed to be a waiting period? To make sure the other was serious, and that the relationship would last?

They had only been together officially for a couple of days, and yet Lovino had already told Antonio he loved him, and vice-versa.

Wasn't that a bad thing? Wasn't there supposed to be a waiting period for that, too?

Lovino exhaled heavily. He wanted to rip his hair out.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Antonio whispered in his ear suddenly, causing Lovino to jump nearly out of his skin.

"Ah, you damn jerk! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Lovino gushed, fighting to catch his breath and blushing a little with Antonio's proximity.

Antonio only smiled, took both of his hands in either of his. A moment passed, in which Antonio studied Lovino closely, and Lovino was unable to keep his gaze on the Spaniard's. "You know you can still talk to me, right?" Antonio said with a tilt of his head. "You don't have to be embarrassed or hide your thoughts just because we're a couple now."

"A…couple," Lovino repeated softly, looking to their entwined hands. Now that Antonio had said it – and now that he said it, too – it seemed even more concrete, more definite. Somehow this made his heart race with anxiety, and he knew he was blushing too.

"Do you not want to be?" Antonio asked, and there was such emotion in his words Lovino was forced to meet his gaze.

Those emerald eyes were deeper than Lovino had ever noticed them to be before; they were full of nervousness and preparation for hurt. Lovino had never seen such emotions in those eyes before. That alone was enough to make him bridge the gap between their arms, so that his face was inches from Antonio's. "I…I want it to be," Lovino whispered, knowing that his words were true.

"Ah, I'm so happy!" Antonio gushed, pulling Lovino into a tight hug. Lovino blushed madly, and his breathing faltered, but when Antonio's scent washed over him, he felt everything calming, if only a bit.

They backed off enough to see one another's face, and Antonio pressed, "So what were you thinking about?"

_Oblivious, as usual, _Lovino thought with a groan as he thought of ways out of this conversation.

He had to fight with himself, too; part of him wanted to talk with Antonio about what was going through his mind, and badly. But another half was dead-set against it, labeled it too embarrassing.

"No thinking…" he murmured to himself. If Antonio was serious, if he really could talk to the elder about anything, then this should be a piece of cake.

Sighing, Lovino steeled his will and looked into Antonio's questioning eyes. "Okay, if you really wanna know, I'll tell you." Antonio nodded, and Lovino forced himself to continue, "I was…thinking about…um, sex."

Antonio's quizzical look only deepened, which was the opposite of what Lovino was expecting. "What about it?"

"Um…well…I was thinking about how people do it when they're in love, as a sort of ultimate declaration sort of thing, right?" Lovino's eyes were everywhere as he spoke, but they landed on Antonio's at the end of the sentence. Antonio nodded, and he continued, "Well, I was thinking about how…How I love you,"-his face went scarlet here, and he was unable to keep his gaze on Antonio's—"and how you…love me. S-s-so I was thinking, 'Should we do that?' But then I thought that we've only been a couple for three days or something, and there's supposed to be a waiting period before you do it with someone, right? And then I was thinking there's supposed to be a waiting period before you tell someone you love them, too, so I wasn't sure where that left us. I mean I…might want to do that with you someday but I don't think right now is good and, uh, I thought that would make me 'easy' or something like that, and I don't want you to think that of me…" He drifted off, realizing that he was rambling and sounding like a complete schoolgirl.

Antonio took one of Lovino's hands in his and brought his knuckles up to his lips. "We don't have to do anything you're not ready for," he whispered. "And I promise the sex is only a plus for me. I've waited so long, I don't care how long it takes you to be ready. I love you, and I want _you, _not just your body."

Lovino bit his lower lip, feeling his tear ducts stinging again. His heart was gushing in nervousness and love, and he was unsure if it was real, seeing as they had only been together for a few days.

"Antonio," Lovino whispered, gulping, "is this real?"

Gently, Antonio moved Lovino's head to his chest. "Hear that heartbeat?" he murmured, rubbing Lovino's shoulder with his free hand.

"A-ah, yeah?" Lovino flicked his eyes upwards to catch a glimpse of Antonio's.

"It's all for you."

A blissful moment of peace passed before frantic knocking reached their door. "Fratello, Spagna!" The door opened a moment later, and a rather disheveled Feliciano burst through. "The Allies called," he continued, his voice a grave tone that Lovino rarely heard from his fratellino, "they're ordering a meeting, immediately. England in particular is very angry."

A weight graced Lovino's shoulders, a dreadfully heavy one. He could sense the reason why England was angry and demanding a meeting out of nowhere. "Ah," he said heavily, a sense of dread coming on.

Ludwig appeared in the doorway, then, wearing a full suit and tie outfit. "Italia," he began, "go get your suit on. We're going to be late." Feliciano nodded and left, silently. That alone shocked Lovino into his own stupor.

"I guess I'm going home, then," Antonio yawned, pulling away from Lovino. The younger's heart panged, though he was loath to admit it. He didn't want to go through this without Antonio, though there was no way he was admitting that.

"How are you getting there?" Ludwig asked, all business, as usual.

Antonio paused for a long moment, and Lovino let out a heavy sigh. "I…I don't know…train?"

"Too risky," the stupid German shook his head. "You can stay here and wait, if you want…"

"I can't take a boat, or a car or something?"

Ludwig shook his head. "Anything leaving from Germany is immediately considered a threat by the Allies…and if they were to stop whatever you were riding in to inspect it, and found you there…They may think of you as a member of the Axis."

Lovino cursed under his breath. He hated this whole ordeal; the only reason he was a part of this was because Feliciano had to jump for Ludwig…If his fratellino didn't make such rash and sudden decisions for the man, he may have been able to convince his brother otherwise. Wars were just too troublesome – Lovino didn't want anything to do with them, personally. Unless it was a war that explicitly concerned the two of them, he was better off on his own, with his brother or with Antonio.

His laid-back attitude in the face of war was a trait he inherited from Antonio. He inherited a lot from that idiot, even if he didn't want to admit it sometimes.

Antonio sighed. "But I wanna go hoooooommmee!" He whined.

"Stop whining," Lovino ordered at once. He thought for a second before continuing, "Maybe…maybe you could…go…to my house…" he mumbled, not liking the idea of leaving the Spaniard alone in his home.

"Aaahhh, that would be fun! I haven't been to your house in _ages!_"

Lovino sighed once more. "Alright, I'll provide personal transportation from my men."

Ludwig folded his arms, raised a quizzical eyebrow. "How are your men going to get here from Italy in five minutes?"

"I have men _stationed_ here," Lovino growled as he pushed past the German in favor of the doorway. "Where's your phone?"

"Wait," Ludwig ordered, resting a hand on his shoulder. Lovino winced at the contact but did nothing to shake him off. "you have men stationed in Germany?"

"I have men stationed _everywhere_." Lovino scowled, shrugging Ludwig's shoulder off his arm. "Even in the Allied countries. Of course, there's nothing they can do to stop me. They don't even know my men are there. Now, where's your phone?"

"A-ah," Ludwig stuttered, which both and surprised and pleased the Italian quite a bit, "down the hall…You'll probably hear Italia singing…"

Lovino nodded and moved past him, not feeling the need for more direction.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Lovino _did _hear Feliciano singing, even before he had come close to Ludwig's room. He opened the door without warning, and was welcomed by a half-naked Feliciano. "Fratello!" He cheered, approaching.

"Get dressed!" Lovino ordered, making a beeline for the phone. "Anyway, I'm busy for the moment. Get dressed while I'm working." His back to his brother, he picked up the phone and dialed the number.

He had to wait only moments before the phone was answered on the other end. "Pronto," a husky voice said.

"It's me," he responded gruffly, in the Sicilian dialect he knew his brother wouldn't understand. "I need two of you to come out and give Antonio a ride to my place."

"Mmhm, alright," the other answered, in Sicilian. "What time?"

"Immediately." He gave the other his current position.

"Right, right." The other hung up the phone, and Lovino hung up, too.

"Fratelllllloooooooo," Feliciano wailed, giving him cause to turn and face him. "You know I hate it when you do that! I can't understand anything you're saying! We created a national language just because of that, remember?"

"I know, I know," Lovino grumbled, ruffling a hand through his hair. "Do you have any nice suits I could borrow?" He changed the subject quickly, knowing Feliciano would jump at the chance to spice his big brother up with style.

"Si, si, I've got tons!" He opened the door to his walk-in closet and ventured inside. Tentatively, Lovino followed along behind.

Immediately, Feliciano began digging through the suits and outfits. "How about this?" He held up an extremely flashy green striped suit.

"Eehhhh…" Lovino murmured, "don't you have anything simple? Like a plain black one?"

Feliciano frowned in thought – and probably disappointment – but silently put the first suit back and began rifling through the outfits once more. "Mmhm, try this one." Feliciano offered a black pinstriped tux, with a light pink undershirt and black tie.

Lovino nodded his approval and worked his current shirt off, threw it to the side.

"Ah, how's your wound, fratello?" Feliciano murmured, looking to Lovino's bandages.

"Hmm, actually I forgot about it…" Lovino murmured, tentatively touching the bandages. After finding no pain, he worked them off. He was pleased to see that it had healed completely, leaving only the smallest of scars. Sometimes it was nice being a nation – wounds healed much faster than a normal human's, especially when they were wounds that were not reflecting the current shape of the country.

"Ah, that's good!" Feliciano said happily as Lovino tossed the bandages to the side.

Lovino nodded and began putting the top half of the tuxedo on. It was a little tight on him, but it still looked natural. He then moved on to his trousers, was pleased to note that the tuxedo looked good on him overall.

"You always did look good in a plain black suit," Feliciano commented with a sigh. "I wish I could look nice in them, too."

"You _do_," Lovino assured him. "You just think they're not fashionable."

"They're not!" Feliciano objected. "What's fashionable about all that black? Ugh, it always made me think of funerals. Bright colors are so much more fun, anyways!"

Lovino managed the smallest of smiles, ruffled his fratellino's hair. "Let's go, before that potato-sucker gets angry."

Feliciano whined in protest of the way in which Lovino referred to Ludwig, but didn't actually say anything.

Even before they were out of the door of the bedroom, Lovino murmured, "E-ehi, fratellino, how long did you and…Ludwig…um, wait before – ?"

"Are you asking another sex question?" Feliciano sang, blithely interrupting his older brother.

"S-stop saying things like that, as though it's nothing!" Lovino scolded.

Feliciano only laughed. "We didn't wait very long," he admitted. "That was mostly my fault, though…Germany wanted to wait a while, but I _seduced _him!" He giggled, obviously proud. Lovino went a bright red, imagining it – not that he wanted to – and wondered what in the hell made him ask in the first place.

They met up with Ludwig, Antonio, and Honda in the parlor. Mouth dry, Lovino approached the Spaniard, hands in his trouser pockets. "Your transportation should be here soon," he murmured as the rest of the Axis conversed separately.

"When will I see you again?" Antonio whispered, stepping closer to the younger and wrapping his arms around his waist.

"I…don't know," Lovino managed, heart thumping. He didn't want to go without that earthy, summer smell and that warm embrace. He never enjoyed it when he and Antonio were separated, even when he was very young.

He noticed, with a shock, that his hands were resting on either of Antonio's hips. Mortified, Lovino moved his hands to the back of Antonio's hips and clasped them together. Sure, his hands were dreadfully close to the Spaniard's butt, but it was a little more comfortable, a little easier to deal with.

"I'm going to miss you," Antonio whispered, their foreheads touching.

"I-I'm going to miss you too," Lovino admitted with a grumble, unwilling to look the elder in the eyes.

"I love you," Antonio told him, his voice barely audible.

Lovino gulped. He had to say it back, now; Antonio was expecting – probably needing – to hear him say it. He _had _to say it back, even if he felt weird saying it. Besides, didn't he feel the same? "I," he began, more nervous than if Antonio had suddenly begun undressing him, "I…I…" He couldn't say it. He just couldn't. It still felt too weird, too new and raw to add to his vocabulary. Looking everywhere but into Antonio's eyes, Lovino forced, "I…feel the same…"

It was a weak substation. He knew it was. But, for some reason, saying those three words to the other male was just too awkward; it brought too much uneasiness to his body, elicited a response from too many different parts. Words were not supposed to have that much affect on someone, no matter what they meant.

Lovino suddenly felt very guilty, and very stupid. He knew Antonio needed to hear those words from him before they departed for God-knew-how-long, but he couldn't muster them past his lips. He also knew that he had said those words to Antonio not too long ago, but that was a slip. Sure, he felt it – maybe – but that didn't mean he could prance around declaring it. It was just too odd.

Antonio's eyelids drooped a bit – Lovino thought he could read disappointment in those emeralds – but the Spaniard simply touched his fingers to Lovino's cheek and whispered, "Don't worry, I'm not upset."

But Lovino knew better than that; the hurt was plain to see. Even an idiot like himself could notice that the failure to utter those words had struck a chord within Antonio.

Without worrying about the others seeing, Lovino took Antonio's chin and slammed his lips against Antonio's. He tried his hardest to put passion, lust, _something _in that kiss. Something that would tell Antonio what he couldn't verbalize.

When they broke for air, Antonio's eyes only looked even more troubled, which made Lovino's eyes sting with guilt. He had to say it; Antonio was a helpless romantic – even more than Lovino himself – and so Lovino knew the Spaniard would be crushed if he didn't say it. Coupled with the fact that they could go without seeing one another for quite some time, Antonio would probably spend the entire time locked up in his room, without lights or water or, worse, without tomatoes.

"Antonio," Lovino began, "I – "

He was interrupted by Honda. "Sumimasen," the Japanese murmured, "but the car you ordered is here, Romano-kun."

Lovino growled, looked to the ground as he backed away. "Let's go, then," he murmured, clenching and unclenching his fists in an attempt to keep the tears from flowing.

"R-right," Antonio stumbled, chuckling a bit as he put a hand behind his head. "I guess we can all walk out together."

"Hai," Honda affirmed. "Our meeting is at a nearby hotel, so we're walking there." Honda turned around and began to walk away. Lovino and Antonio quickly followed after.

Outside, the black car was waiting for Antonio. Lovino approached first, rested a hand on the rim surrounding the window – which was down – and spoke to the man driving. "Take him to my house," he reiterated, again in Sicilian dialect. "Make him happy and comfortable, and stop for whatever he wants, whenever he wants it."

The driver nodded and Lovino turned away from him in favor of those behind him.

He caught Antonio's eyes, felt too awkward, and looked away. "Ah, um, here," Lovino opened the door to the backseat of the car and gestured for Antonio to get in.

Antonio obliged, stopped just before he got in, and looked to Lovino. A tense moment passed, in which every fiber in Lovino's being screamed profanity at him. _Tell him, you idiot! Tell him now, while you still have the chance! _

Lovino managed to meet Antonio's eyes for a split second. They were so full of pain and unmet expectations that he couldn't keep his gaze locked for long.

_Say it, you dumbass! What are you waiting for?_

Trembling, Lovino opened his mouth and croaked involuntarily. He felt his fists clenching and unclenching again, and his heart was racing with anxiety. His body really was screaming profanity at him. "I…I," he began, looked into Antonio's eyes once more.

There was hope, the tinniest bit, glimmering just beneath the pain.

_Do it! Tell him you love him! Tell him how much you'll miss him while he's gone! Don't be such a jackass! You know you want to say it, anyway! Why hesitate? _

Lovino licked his lips. "I…" His body was screaming it, his heart was tearing him apart with it.

But the words would not cross his lips. They seemed glued to his teeth, to the roof of his mouth, awkwardly arranged so that he could not make sense of them as he tried to speak them.

Anger began to boil beneath the anxiety, anger at himself for not being able to do something so simple. Why couldn't he just say what the hell he wanted to say, and be done with it?

His arms shook in nervousness and self-hatred, a combination he had never felt before. "I…Bye." Lovino gave up, quickly spun around on his heels and speedily walked off. There was no way he could stand there and receive the hurt look he knew was all over Antonio's face.

And there was no way he could let Antonio see the tears that readily and easily coursed down his cheeks as he hurried away.

He heard a car door close softly, and the sound of the car slowly driving away.

Seconds later, Honda called out his name and ran up to him. Lovino kept his gaze focused on the ground, too ashamed to have the other see him in such a state.

Honda took a second to catch his breath, then said after a pause, "You're heading the wrong way, Romano-kun."

Lovino laughed despite himself, at the irony, and spun around on his heels again. Quickly, he worked at wiping the tears from his eyes, even though there seemed to be no end to the flow. Nothing had made him cry this much in a very long time.

They met Feliciano and Ludwig at the doors of the hotel in which they planned to meet the Allies.

Feliciano shot his brother a worried look, but Lovino kept his head high and silently followed the others inside. He would not let this failure control him, at least not right now. Right now there were more important matters to attend to.

Striding into the meeting room with a false arrogance and courage, the Axis powers took their respective seats across from the Allies.

"Just days ago," Arthur Kirkland began immediately, without a precursor, "British officials arrested _you, _Italy," he pointed to either of the Italian brothers accusingly and plowed on, "and hours later it comes to my attention that every single man stationed within that prison was murdered due to gunshot wounds."

Lovino felt his blood beginning to boil. He yawned, slowly and pointedly stretched and sat back in his chair. "So what? _Welcome to war._"

He noted with satisfaction that the Englishman was already fuming. "I want reparations!" He demanded, jumping to his feet and slamming the table with his open palms. "Two hundred men slaughtered like bloody _pigs!_" The man took a moment to calm himself before slowly descending onto his seat once more. "If I am not afforded reparations, I and the other Allies will be forced to take drastic measures."

Lovino opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by Ludwig. "What are you proposing?"

"I want…" The Briton took a moment to think, and his former colony, America, jumped in.

"Take his capitol! Make them a democracy!"

Then the rest of the nations jumped in, too.

"Make him pay for the war!"

"Give all his land to China!"

"Hand over Prussia!"

Ludwig sat there calmly as the enemy demanded impossible reparations. He gave them a moment to silence themselves before he answered, "None of that is possible."

Arthur, still heated, folded his arms and sat back in his chair. "Reparations will be received, one way or another, _Kraut." _He spat this last word, as an insult. "I can guarantee that _none _of you wankers will be members of the United Nation."

This seemed to stir something in Feliciano, but Ludwig was unmoved. "Membership in such a simplistic, superficial organization is not something I desire."

Lovino smirked as the other nations growled at Ludwig's remark. Then he realized that the nations were blaming Ludwig for _his _actions. And there was no way he was going to let that potato-sucking bastard get all the credit for his hard work!

"Why are all of you blaming this on that bastard?" Lovino thrusted his thumb to his left, where Ludwig sat, just beyond Feliciano. The Allies silence in curiosity, and Lovino continued, "_I _was the one who took out all your men, England. Don't give that bastard the credit for all my hard work."

There was a moment of silence, in which England and the rest gaped at him like fish out of water, before they broke into laughter.

"As if _Italy_, of all countries, could ever do something like _that_!" England retorted, pointing and laughing. He was laughing so hard tears collected at the corners of his eyes. The rest of the countries were the same way.

"Wow, I didn't know you could be funny, man!" America laughed alongside England, mirroring the elder.

Lovino ground his teeth together as his blood ran hot. His arms shook, and his hands clenched themselves into painfully tight fists. Not like he noticed. He wanted to put all of those bastards into their place, right there and then; delightful visions of grinding their faces into the dirt passed through his mind, though it didn't make him feel any calmer.

Feliciano noticed his brother's rising anger level, gently rested a hand on his arm. Lovino looked to him with his eyes, biting his lower lip. "It's alright, brother," he whispered in Italian, "just ignore them. Germany will take care of everything."

This didn't make him feel better in the least. Feliciano, of course, was just like Antonio; he never could sense the atmosphere and know what _not _to say. Instead, those words that should not be said just flew out of his mouth like they were independent of Feliciano's thought process.

"No," Lovino grumbled as the other nations and Ludwig worked back to a conversation with a point, "I don't _want _to rely on that bastard to solve all our problems." He ignored, for once, the slight whimper Feliciano offered when he referred to Ludwig so basely. Being respectful of someone he really couldn't stand wasn't his priority at the moment.

He must have blacked out in his anger, because the next thing he knew, Feliciano was urging him upright. Lovino blinked once, twice, looked around as though he had never seen the world before. "It's…over?" He murmured, watching as the members of the Allies left the room rather nonchalantly.

"Ah," Ludwig answered from beside him. "It was agreed that my forces will surrender at one of the cities it's currently stationed in…A very simplistic request. They never hinted at any other stipulations, but…"

Lovino nodded, already understanding Ludwig's point of view. "They will attack," Honda said rather matter-of-factly. "Perhaps not now or tomorrow or anytime this week, but they will attack. They will earn their reparation back somehow."

Beside him, Feliciano shuddered.

"We need more troops," Ludwig whispered to the other three as they began filing out of the room. "And we need to prepare for anything they're scheming on throwing our way. We cannot afford a failure."

Lovino, back to his senses, grunted his agreement.

"And no more thoughtless actions," Ludwig continued, looking to Lovino, who scowled in response.

"Shut the hell up, potato-eater," Lovino countered. "I did what was necessary for the situation. You were the one to give me the permission and the gun in the first place."

Ludwig nodded silently, accepting the weight.

If anything, that was worse than a counter-argument. It didn't make Lovino feel any more justified.

Feliciano spoke up after a moment of intense silence, when Ludwig's house came into view. "Ah, I would love some pasta right about now!"

"I'm going for a siesta," Lovino added, imagining how nice it would be to sleep after being awake for so long.

"Germany-san and I will gather battle information for our next counter-attack, and get everything ready for protection." Honda spoke, calmly.

"Ah," Ludwig said with a nod. "I can't rest until we're completely prepared."

Lovino rolled his eyes, although he knew they were right.

* * *

Once they had returned to Ludwig's place, Lovino went straight to his room, locked the door behind him, and threw himself onto the bed. Drowsiness instantly washed over him, and he felt himself already being pulled over by the clutches of sleep.

The sheets still smelled of Antonio, which perturbed him a bit, but then something a little more optimistic crossed his mind.

Wherever he or Antonio were, they were sure to be dead asleep at the same time. The synchronization made him feel more comforted, somehow, as though the Spaniard were right there with him, cradling him in his arms as sleep overtook them.

He gave in to those desires then, and finally allowed himself rest.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

_Lovino balanced shakily on the precipice of a wall. He held his arms out to either side of himself, instinctually, for balance. Without much worry, he placed one foot in front of the other and walked along the wall's edge, rather quickly. It was a long drop down to the ground, maybe seven feet or so, but he knew he wouldn't fall. Lovino, fall? That was impossible. _

"_Hey, Romano, don't do that!" Antonio warned as he ran up to the younger. "You could fall!" _

"_Fuck off, jackass!" Came Lovino's harsh response. He closed his eyes in annoyance and continued to walk along the wall. Like he, the great Lovino, would ever fall. He could do things on his own, anyways; he didn't need Antonio to look after him day after day. He had never asked to live in Antonio's house, nor did he desire to. Everything that had brought him to where he was today was thanks to circumstances he could not control. _

_So did he appreciate the Spaniard's actions at all? _

_Not one bit. If anything, they made him loathe his position even more. _

_Lovino had to admit; he liked Antonio as a person. He appreciated that Antonio fussed over him so much. It was nice to feel loved and wanted, especially when no one else made him feel that way. _

_But always, in the back of his mind, Lovino know that Antonio's gestures were double-sided; he probably only acted like he liked Lovino because he wanted his land. He probably only worried over Lovino because he didn't want anything to happen to the land. That's all it was, surely. Antonio didn't want Lovino, he wanted Romano. Which was exactly why he called him by that name and not his personal name. _

_Knowing this made Lovino resent Antonio, even though a part of him loved him, too, though he'd never admit it. He loved that Antonio wanted to protect and take care of him. He loved when Antonio made him things, or when they ate lunch together. Antonio leaving to go to war so often ripped Lovino apart inside, but he wouldn't acknowledge those feelings. He knew why Antonio was so sweet to him. There was always a reason, never just love. _

_Naturally, Lovino did his best to distance himself from the Spaniard. He couldn't risk getting attached, being torn apart when Antonio went off to another war, having to deal with his double-sided love when he returned. Things were easier left unsaid and unacknowledged. _

"_C'mon, Romano, don't be that way!" Antonio pleaded, easily keeping up with Lovino's pace. He craned his neck upwards to see the younger nation as they walked. "You'll fall, for sure! You know how clumsy you are! And you could break a bone or something if you fall!" The Spaniard stretched his arms out in preparation. _

"_Damnit, bastard, I'm not going to fall!" Lovino shouted in protest, looking down to his 'Boss' in his anger. He had walked along this very edge millions of times, and had not once fallen. What were the chances that he would suddenly fall now? _

_Lovino stopped where he stood and stared into Antonio's worried-filled eyes. How could he portray such strong emotions so easily? He was a damn good actor, for sure. _

_That thought made more waves of pain and anger rush over Lovino. He scowled – why had he even stopped walking in the first place? – and continued forwards, his arms stretched out on either side of him yet again. _

"_You don't care about me, anyways," Lovino found himself mumbling as he slowly continued on, "so why are you wasting your time?" _

"_Of course I care about you!" Antonio protested. "I love you!" _

_Lovino's heart stopped at the words, and so did his feet. He lost coordination in his shock, and before he knew what was happening, he was flying. _

_No, wait, he wasn't flying – he was falling! Lovino screamed in terror, clamped his eyes shut and tried his best to wrap his arms around his face. This was happening quickly, but why did it feel like it was taking years? _

_Next thing he knew, warmth was enveloping him. A second passed, in which Lovino was sure he was dead, before he slowly opened his eyes and looked around. _

"_A-am I dead…?" he wondered aloud. After a moment, he slowly picked his head up to look around more. _

_Antonio's gaze met his, and then he realized that he was in the Spaniard's arms. _

_Antonio had caught him, mid-fall. That bastard had probably saved his life. _

"_H-hey, Romano," Antonio whispered, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes, "a-are you alright?" _

"_A-ah, yeah," Lovino murmured, thinking about how he liked when Antonio hugged him, and how he liked the other's smell. He took a second to think, then asked, "B-but why are you crying?" _

_A tear fell from Antonio's eye and hit Lovino's cheek. Lovino, uninterested, left it where it fell. "I-I'm just so glad," Antonio whispered, hugging the younger to him tightly, "I'm so glad I caught you. I couldn't bear what would happen if you fell. I don't want to see you hurt." _

_Lovino, in shock, had no response. A moment passed before he mumbled, "W-well then, don't ever let me fall." _

"_I won't," the elder nation swore. "As long as you're with me, I promise I won't let anything happen to you. I love you, Romano. Please don't forget that or get hurt." _

_Lovino choked up, full of words he had always wanted to say but couldn't get past his lips. He had always wanted to tell Antonio that he loved him, like any child would to their caregiver. But knowing what he knew, he couldn't admit it. Telling Antonio that would be revealing weakness, and it would be falling for Antonio's act. _

_Because it was all an act, right? _

_

* * *

_

Lovino's eyes shot open. Panting, he sat up and looked around, the dream painfully lingering behind his eyes. He wiped the sweat from his brow and stumbled into the bathroom to pee.

"Just a dream," he mumbled aloud in an attempt to calm his erratic heart and shaky breath.

But it wasn't a dream, and he knew that. The scene that had played before him was actually a memory, and it was exactly as it happened, right down to the last detail. Even his thoughts were exactly the same.

Frowning, Lovino sat down on his bed and stared at his feet. Surely things had changed between then and now. He had become his own nation, unified with his brother. He was independent now, and didn't need Antonio for everything. Antonio had been upset when he left his house, but he seemed to take it well later on. He even acted as though he was happy for the younger.

So it was crazy to think Antonio was behaving this way because he wanted Lovino and his land back, right? Antonio actually loved _Lovino_, didn't he?

Even though he called him Romano.

Lovino chewed at his bottom lip as his stomach did summersaults. Antonio wasn't acting. He never had. Lovino was just insecure.

That had to be it. Had to be.

But why did he still feel so anxious, scared, unsure?

Tears welled at the corners of his eyes, but he wiped them away quickly. He would not cry over a stupid memory.

That stupid memory continued to torment him with what it could mean. Sighing and still biting his lip, Lovino stood and ventured out of his room. It was time he found his brother again.

* * *

Finding Feliciano was easy enough; he just had to follow the sounds of his brother's singing. That, coupled with the fact that it was late evening, ensured him that Feliciano would be found in the kitchen, either making something to eat or cleaning up.

"Ah, buon giorno, fratello!" Feliciano greeted him happily as he continued washing dishes. "Even though it isn't daytime!" Feliciano returned to his singing and cleaning for a minute or two before he looked over his shoulder and asked, "Are you hungry, fratello? I put the leftovers in the fridge."

"A-ah," Lovino murmured with a nod. "Alright…" He hadn't planned on eating before he consulted the younger, but at the prospect of food, his stomach growled uncontrollably. Thoughtlessly, Lovino procured the leftovers from the refrigerator and immediately began work on it. The feeling of food filling his stomach made him feel a little calmer, but his heart continued to race with the aftermath of the dream.

A period of silence passed between the brothers, before Lovino forced himself to speak up. "Ah, um…Where's the other two?" He asked feebly, trying and failing to think of a way to open up conversation.

"Still working on what we have to do for the war," Feliciano responded softly as he turned the faucet off and faced his brother. He wiped his hands on his apron and continued, "How was your siesta, fratello?"

Lovino frowned and looked to his plate, now unable to keep eye contact with the younger. "Fine…I guess…" He sighed loudly, barely able to hold it all in.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Feliciano prodded as he took a seat beside his brother. "Something about Big Brother Spain? You were acting really oddly when you two departed."

The elder bit his bottom lip in anxiety as he thought about everything that had transpired. "I…I never told Antonio I loved him before he left," he murmured, looking to his lap now.

"Do you?" Northern Italy asked softly, causing Southern Italy to look up in surprise. "You can't expect to say something you don't feel." Feliciano explained, placing a hand on Lovino's shoulder gently. "And I'm sure Big Brother Spain wouldn't want you to say it back if you didn't feel it."

Lovino sighed once more, looked to his plate again. "I…I don't know. I just don't fucking know." He threw his elbows on the table and put his face in his hands. "How do I know he loves me for me, and not for my land? He always calls me Romano, not Lovino. How do I know he doesn't act this way because he wants my land under his control again?" Hot tears were running down his face as he blurted all of his fears. That fucking dream.

Feliciano cooed, wrapped his arms around his brother. "Big Brother Spain would never do that to you," he whispered. "Fratello…he loves you. He always has. You know that."

He _did _know that. Antonio's gestures, his worries, his behavior…All of it, everything, was full of love. It always had been. Even as a child, Antonio had told him he loved him. Sure, maybe then it was a different love, but in the end, love was love. Declarations all meant the same thing, and they lasted forever. Just because Lovino had never accepted them before…

"You know he loves you," Feliciano interrupted his thoughts, "don't you? He tells you that all the time! Why didn't you tell him you love him back?"

Lovino was shaking, unable to breathe with the tears. "I don't know," he managed. "I…I-I couldn't…couldn't say it…"

"Do you want to tell him now?"

Lovino's heart skipped several beats. Of course he wanted to tell that bastard what he really felt, now. Now that there was no way of contacting him, now that he could be anywhere, he realized he wanted to tell that damned Spaniard he loved him. "Fuck," Lovino spat as tears of regret began to overtake the other tears.

"Well, he's at our place, right?" Feliciano whispered, carefully wiping some of the tears from Lovino's cheeks. "Just call him!"

Lovino's eyes widened in shock. Why hadn't he thought of that before?

"I-I can do that?" Lovino stuttered, forcing himself to look his brother in the eye.

"Of course you can, silly!" His younger brother ruffled his hair, as though _he _were the younger one and smiled. "You already know where the phone is."

"A-ah, r-right…" Lovino's heart was racing, now, with the thought of speaking with Antonio. What if he slipped and let those stupid insecurities out instead of saying what he really wanted? What if the Spaniard rejected him because he had waited so long? There were so many unfavorable things that could happen, Lovino found himself thrown in a pit of anxiety and worry. "F-feliciano, what if he…doesn't…" His voice drifted off with the painful possibilities.

"He won't," his fratellino promised. "He loves you too much!"

Lovino's heart panged with the words. Was his fratellino being serious, or only supportive? How could Feliciano possibly know Antonio's real feelings, anyway? But he didn't have the time to be skeptical or full of worry; he had to call Antonio, and he had to call him now. If he waited, even the littlest bit, he wouldn't be able to express his true feelings. They would get lost in the sea of everything else he was feeling.

Swallowing, Lovino stood and mumbled thanks to his brother before moving off in the direction of Ludwig's office.

* * *

Waves of torment rushing through him, Lovino picked up the phone and put it to his ear.

Listened to the silence, debating whether he should really call or not, and hung up when the dial tone began beeping.

Paced around the room, biting his finger, as his emotions waged war inside him.

Picked up the phone again, his finger bleeding from the intensity of the bite, immediately dialed the number, without wasting time on thought.

Hung up the phone, again, after two call sounds. His heart was racing too much.

Paced again, attempted to get his heart to calm down enough for him to actually make the call. Of course, this was for naught.

Again the phone was picked up, again the number was dialed. He held the phone so tightly his hand shook, forced his arm to poise it against his ear. He chewed his bottom lip raw; beads of blood welled up against his teeth, but it was useless to try and relieve them. Anxiety was controlling him completely, now.

Then, without warning, the line was picked up. It was soon, too soon; Lovino doubted he'd be able to speak to the person on the other end.

"iHola!" came the cheery Spanish voice. Lovino was sent over the deep end of emotional torment, but somehow he managed to stay on the line. "Veneziano and Romano aren't here right now, but –"

"A-antonio," Lovino interrupted him, his voice shaky, "it's…me."

"Ah, Romano!" Antonio sounded truly happy, which eased Lovino's anxieties the smallest bit. "It's good to hear from you. How are you? How was the meeting?"

The entire time Antonio spoke, Lovino shook as tears of relief ran down his cheeks. Antonio didn't hate him. That was a start.

There was a long pause, in which Lovino fought for words but found none sufficient. "Romano?" Antonio whispered into the phone. "Are you there? Are you alright?"

Lovino bit down on his lower lip, hard, in attempts to straighten his thoughts enough to speak. Antonio still cared about him; this alone shocked him into silence, though he was fighting it with all his strength. He had to get his thoughts straight and tell Antonio what it was that was eating him up inside.

"L-listen, Antonio," Lovino whispered, using his free hand to grip the roots of his hair roughly, "I-I have to tell you something…I forgot to tell you before…" His breathing was incomprehensible; it was impossible to explain why and how he was still standing as he spoke.

"Hmm?" Antonio murmured into the phone. "What is it?"

Lovino took deep breaths, multiple times, in attempt to calm his shaky heart. No such luck. "I…I'm sorry I didn't say this to you before…" He let his voice drift off in his inability to form the words. "I…I know I should have, but it wouldn't come out…"

"You don't have to be so scared, Romano," the Spaniard on the other line whispered. "I won't ever hurt you."

Tears ran down Lovino's cheeks at the words, which only made speaking harder. But he was going to say what he wanted to say, no matter what, because he knew now that he really did want to say them. "A-antonio…I…love you, too. I'm sorry I didn't say it before you left. I love you."

"Waaaahhhh, really? I'm so happy! I love you, too! I was so worried you didn't…when you didn't…" The other's voice drifted off.

"I know," Lovino managed as he attempted to talk as normally as possible through the tears. "I'm sorry. I love you." The more he said it, the more concrete it felt, and the easier it was to say.

"Hey, Romano, are you crying?" Antonio voice sounded cheery and oblivious, as always.

Lovino sniffled, wiped his eyes. "No," he murmured, taking a huge breath of relief as he sat in Ludwig's chair.

"That's okay," the older responded, and Lovino swore he could hear the smile in his voice, "I am too."

Lovino couldn't help but chuckle. He sighed and looked up to the ceiling. "So, how are you? Have you been treated all right?"

"Si, si, everything's fine here," Antonio responded. "But I miss you, Roma."

Lovino's heart ached with the reminder. "I miss you, too…"

"Romano, promise me something?"

"Hmm?"

"Come home soon."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

They spent literally hours like that, talking on the phone. The subjects they spoke of were really insubstantial – the weather, politics, and so on – but it meant everything to Lovino. Security wrapped around him like a blanket, and he no longer feared rejection or abandonment. From that one simple conversation with the elder nation, Lovino knew he was loved and wanted, and he also – finally – figured out that Antonio would never do anything to hurt him. He really had known that all along, but now he was able to accept it as truth. Antonio loved him, and he loved Antonio. End of story.

The only reason they hung up with one another was because Ludwig had walked into the room and kicked Lovino off the phone. But Lovino was riding such a high of happiness, he was content with saying goodbye and giving the phone over without a fight. He walked out of the office with an idiotic smile on his face and odd stares from Ludwig.

Lovino found himself in the kitchen, where Feliciano was washing dishes and baking at the same time. He was singing and upbeat love song Lovino knew well. Without thinking, Lovino found himself singing along with his fratellino. Within seconds, the two of them were bouncing around, hand in hand, like they were kids again.

They slowed to a halt, when they ended, Feliciano giggling as he shouted, "You are so happy, fratello! It makes me even happier!" The younger forced a hug with the elder, and it was tightly returned. When they separated, Feliciano asked with a smile, "So you talked with Big Brother Spain, right?" Lovino nodded and Feliciano continued, "My big brother's in _love! _Ve!"

The giddy happiness came rushing back, and the two of them danced around some more, singing, "Amore! Amore!" until their throats ached. Lovino felt pretty stupid doing this, but he was really happy, and Feliciano was happy, too. All the happiness crowded over his normally-ornery behavior.

This all came crashing to a halt when Honda ran into the room, screeching, "Please! Please!" When the brothers fell into silence, he continued, "It's Germany-san. Something's happened."

Feliciano's face fell. "G-germany? Is he okay?"

Honda just turned and ran. Thoughtlessly, the Italys followed behind.

They followed the Japanese man into the living room area, where Ludwig sat at one of the couches, tightly wrapping his right arm around his waist. The left arm was holding a bucket up to the German's face, which was mostly hidden within the silver lips of the bucket.

Lovino watched in shock as his fratellino ran over to his lover and collapsed at his side. "Germany, Germany!" Feliciano cried, arms outstretched as if to touch the other but never quite making contact. "Germany, what happened?"

Lovino continued to stare, in horror, as he realized that whatever wound that was on Ludwig's front had gone through to his back. The German coughed what Lovino suspected to be blood into the bucket. Between sputters, he attempted to respond, "D-dresden. Dresden. T-those…fuckers…bombed Dresden."

Feliciano blanched at the horror of it. Lovino turned his attention to his brother, carefully watching the younger's face for signs of faint.

"Dresden?" Lovino heard himself say as the pieces finally began to fall into place. "Isn't that a civilian city?"

Ludwig managed a small nod.

Lovino cursed hotly, ran a hand through his hair. "What the fuck are we supposed to do? I don't know how to treat such bad wounds."

"Bad?" Feliciano repeated, panic rising through his vocal chords. He looked to Lovino, to Honda, to Ludwig, and back to Lovino. "It's bad? How bad? Will Germany be okay?" Feliciano sprang to his feet and grabbed Lovino's shoulders.

Ludwig continued to vomit into the bucket.

Lovino cursed once more, louder than before.

"What about Spain-san?" Honda interjected. The brothers shot their attention to him. "He's the oldest one out of all of us, I think. At least, he has more experience with treating such wounds."

Feliciano gasped. "He would know what to do!"

Lovino's heart raced at the thought of Antonio, fell when he realized the problem with that idea. "He's three hours away, at least."

"He's our only other ally," Honda said, more firmly than was expected of him. "He can instruct us over the phone if he must."

Feliciano nodded vigorously. "He's right, fratello! We must try _something!_" The two bolted for Ludwig's office, leaving Lovino alone with the ailing country.

Finally, after so long, Lovino was able to will his legs into motion. Gulping, Lovino sat beside Ludwig, who seemed to be choking on his own blood a little less than he was before. Tentatively, Lovino rested a hand on the German's shoulder, almost afraid of breaking the far more muscular man. "A-are you alright?" Lovino murmured, feeling ridiculous for asking such a stupid question.

Ludwig managed a nod. "Spitting up…a little less blood." He looked up to Lovino and managed a smile as he finished, "I'll take that as progress."

Lovino managed a small, shaky smile in return.

The German coughed once more, sit a little into the bucket, and wiped what was on his mouth onto his sleeve. He put the bucket to the side, straightened up, and moved his right arm away from his stomach.

More blood. From that point to his knees, he was covered in it.

Lovino paled, realized that he had been correct; the wound pierced all the way through Ludwig's abdomen. "Um," Lovino began, looking for something to close the hole up with, "maybe you should take your shirt off…" Ludwig complied, removing both his jacket and the tanktop beneath. Lovino nodded, his thoughts racing. Without conscious though, he tore Ludwig's tanktop into two long strips. He tied the ends together and tied that tightly to the German's waist. Ludwig grunted but did not complain.

"Okay," Lovino murmured when he was finished, "lie back…or…something. Relax now."

Ludwig chuckled. "No need to tell me twice." he carefully laid back onto the couch, using it for a makeshift bed. Lovino got up so Ludwig could have somewhere for his legs to rest.

A moment of silence passed. Ludwig brought a hand up and ran it through his hair, cursed in German. "No damn warning…I need a cigarette."

Lovino considered finding him one, decided against it. "How about a potato instead?" He joked, attempting – and failing – a lighter mood.

The bombed nation managed a smile.

If anything, all of the attempted-lightheartedness was making things more awkward. Lovino had known Ludwig since Feliciano had first befriended him, and never once had he laughed or chuckled. Not when Lovino was around, anyway. And they had certainly never been so cordial with one another before. It was so odd…

Feliciano and Honda reappeared, then. The younger of the Italys ran to Ludwig and threw himself at his side. In an instant, Feliciano was all over the German, holding his hand, brushing hair from his eyes, kissing him. To top it all off, he was speaking in rapid Italian, Venetian dialect. Lovino knew most of the dialect, but with Feliciano speaking it so rapidly, he was completely unable to decode it.

Attempting to get at least his thoughts in order, Lovino turned to Honda and asked, "What did Antonio say?"

In a low voice, so Feliciano wouldn't overhear, Honda responded, "Spain-san said to tie it, apply pressure. He said that is the only thing that can be done until he arrives with more conventional means of attending to the wound."

Lovino attempted an uncaring nod, but his heart was racing with excitement. In three hours – or even less! – Antonio would be here. Everything would be okay then; he would know what to do.

Lovino felt a pang of guilt for placing Antonio over a badly-wounded Ludwig, but he knew Ludwig would recover.

He turned to Feliciano then. "Brother, brother," he said softly, lying a hand on Feliciano's head, which currently resided over Ludwig's chest, "calm down. He's okay now. Everything's going to be alright."

Feliciano was still crying, but the hysteria had subsided. He mumbled incoherently and buried his face in Ludwig's chest. Silently, Ludwig used his free arm to rub Feliciano's shoulder.

Honda leaned into Lovino and whispered, "Let's give them some time alone."

Lovino nodded and said to his brother, "Fratellino, I'll be back later."

The lovers barely noticed their departure.

Lovino followed Honda into the kitchen, where they tended to Feliciano's forgotten cake. It was overcooked, but not yet burnt. "Tsk," Lovino mumbled after poking the cake, "he won't accept this."

"Why?" Honda asked as he attempted to peer over Lovino's shoulders. "It looks fine."

"This is an _Italian _we're talking about." Lovino turned to the other with raised eyebrows. When Honda did not seem to understand, Lovino added, "With us, it's either perfect or unacceptable. And if any Italian lives up to that rule, it's Feliciano with his cooking." Lovino took a moment to think, then sighed heavily as he set the cake on top of the stove. "We'll let him decide what to do with it later."

A moment passed before Honda returned to the last of the dishes in the sink. "Is that all you _ever _do?" Lovino asked as he scrunched his nose in distaste.

"It's as good a way to pass the time as any." Came the relaxed response.

Lovino stared for a moment longer before grabbing the dish towel and beginning to dry and put away the dishes.

* * *

The shore went in silence, and never once did Lovino create a huge mess. He had to admit, he was proud of himself.

He still hated chores, no matter how calmed he was.

The two of them crept to the living room, only to find Feliciano curled onto the couch with Ludwig, holding the German tightly. Ludwig had his arms wrapped around the Italian as well.

They were both asleep.

Before Lovino could think about how cute the scene before him was, the little Japanese man accompanying him hobbled over to the couch and took the bucket of blood and vomit.

Lovino's nose scrunched in distaste once more. "What are you _doing_?" He hissed, though Honda made no notion to answer him.

Lovino followed after the elder, who wobbled with the bucket all the way outside. Once there, Honda lowered the bucket and straightened, cracking his spine as he did so. "Ah, these bones are to old for all this excitement…"

"Are you going to tell me what you're doing or not?" Lovino snapped with an angry fold of his arms.

"See for yourself," Honda offered. "Take that and pour it over that garden." He pointed to it.

Lovino tried to cover a noise of disgust with a cough as he picked the bucket up and brought it over to the garden. Without giving himself time to think, Lovino thrust the bucket forwards, causing all of its contents to shower over the patch of vegetables.

Instantly, they started to swell and grow until they were perfectly ripe. Against his will, Lovino's mouth began to water at the sight of a bushel of completely ripe tomatoes. "Wow," he murmured as he looked around him. It was nighttime, but still, he could see and feel everything around him growing. Crickets seemed like they were chirping louder and happier, even the night sky seemed more vibrant. "Wow," Lovino repeated as Honda appeared, a basket in hand. "What just happened?"

"Germany was bombed." Honda said simply as he put a cabbage head into the basket, "Ludwig-san _is _Germany. By pouring the lost blood over the native land, you restore some of what was lost. You make things a little easier. When we return inside, Ludwig-san will be a little better, as well."

"Wow," Lovino whispered again, feeling like an idiot for having nothing better to say.

Honda smiled and silently walked back inside. Lovino followed just as silently.

"Spain-san is not expected for at least another two hours," Honda broke the silence when they entered the kitchen. "I would suggest getting some rest. It's nearly dawn."

A tsunami of exhaustion crashed over Lovino, then, and he realized how long he'd going without even a siesta. Part of him wanted to wait for Antonio before he slept, but exhaustion always won over reason. Lovino mumbled a goodbye to the Axis ally and dragged himself to his borrowed room.

* * *

**A/n **

**IT'S FINALLY HERE! I HAVE NOT GIVEN UP ON YOU! **

**Don't worry about Germany - he'll be okay! **

**The town that got bombed - THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED. If you never heard of it before, I suggest you look up the bombing of Dresden. It occurred during World War II and it was in fact a civilian town. I learned about this from the book "Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut. This whole chapter is sort of a tribute to the book and to poor Dresden - lots of people died for no reason, and yet no one really knows about this history bombing of WWII. Spread the knowledge!  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 **

Lovino was woken what felt like minutes later by the caress of a warm, gentle hand. Exhaustion numbed his brain and pulled at the edge of his consciousness, but he was somehow unable to stop his eyelids as they floated upward.

Antonio smiled and ran his finger down the length of Lovino's cheek. "Hey," he whispered.

The Italian shot upright when reality hit. "Antonio!" He gasped, forcing a tight hug with the Spaniard.

The latter chucked and hugged the former back. "I missed you," he whispered in Lovino's ear, sending shivers down Lovino's spine.

God, he smelled so _good! _Lovino buried his face in Antonio's chest and whispered, "I missed you too."

For a second the world melted away, leaving Lovino in the perfection of Antonio's arms.

But time continued to pass, and the moment was gone, blown to pieces by the shotgun of the present. And, like an explosion, everything came rushing back to the surface, though there were no pretty sparks.

"The potato-sucking bastard," Lovino gasped as he pulled himself out of Antonio's arms, "did you see him?"

Antonio chuckled and moved another strand of Lovino's hair, eliciting an annoyed wince from the younger. "He's asleep on the couch with Veneziano."

Lovino arched a brow with suspicion. "Still?"

The Spaniard frowned, let his hand fall limp. "What do you mean, 'still'?"

Lovino began to rub his temples in a vain attempt to push away a building confusion-induced headache. "What time is it?"

Antonio yawned at the reminder of time. "Seven in the morning! Aren't I awesome, coming to help my pals so early in the morning?"

Lovino fell back onto the bed, disregarding the last of Antonio's comment.

Seven in the morning. That meant he slept two hours, at best; it was probably about an hour before sunrise when Lovino had finally laid to rest. He moaned as exhaustion immediately fell unto him, mumbled more about sleep.

"Don't worry, Romano," Antonio assured, "I'll take care of things for a while. You just go back to sleep." When Lovino began to protest, Antonio insisted, "No, really, it's okay! I don't mind! Besides, you look like a train wreck." The Spaniard smiled, oblivious to his phrasing, as usual.

"I look like _what_?" Lovino growled as he slowly sat upright.

Antonio's smile slowly dropped, was completely gone by the time Lovino grabbed the elder's shirt cuff and began shaking violently. "Aah, Romano, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I don't know what I did, but I'm sorry!"

That was unacceptable. Lovino, in his upset state, shook the other even harder. "Damnit, you jerk! How could you be so cruel? Asshole! _Vaffanculo!_"

"Aah, Romano! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Lovino's stomach grumbled, then, and all wrongs were instantly forgotten. "I'm hungry! Make me breakfast!"

The change of tone was too fast for Antonio. "Um, what?"

"I'm _hungry!"_ Lovino yelled. "Make me _breakfast!_"

"Okay, okay! Just stop yelling! You'll wake up Veneziano and Germany."

"Screw Germany," Lovino mumbled as he released Antonio and got to his feet.

Antonio probably didn't hear this; he was whistling a familiar tune.

Lovino followed the Spaniard out to the living room, where the two of them checked on the still-sleeping Feliciano and Ludwig.

"Isn't that cute?" Antonio whispered as they moved off to the kitchen. "Why can't _we _do that?"

"W-what?" Lovino stuttered, surprised, as he looked to Antonio. He looked away when the elder commented about him looking like a tomato, tried to tug some of his hair in front of his face. "I-I mean, we _could_, uh, d-do that, um…" Lovino's voice faded off as his embarrassment grew. He imagined simply sleeping with Antonio, then he began to imagine _sleeping _with him…

"Ah, Romano, you've gotten redder!"

Lovino felt his cheeks continue to heat up.

Beside him, Antonio laughed under his breath. Without warning, the elder pulled the younger into the bathroom that was just off the kitchen. The door clicked shut behind them.

"Antonio, what – ?" His lips were sealed with Antonio's.

Immediately, Lovino's heart began to flutter and his breath was ripped away. He felt himself returning the kiss, felt every fiber of his being urging him for more. He was hyper-sensitive, now, of himself and everything around him. Antonio was holding him firmly, with need – one arm cupped his lower back, the hand on the other resting on Lovino's cheek.

Lovino pressed closer, so that their two bodies were completely together, touching everywhere. He let a little groan of pleasure escape his lips as his arms snaked up the back of Antonio's shirt.

Even that little bit of skin-on-skin was enough to set the both of them off; their lips were forced apart enough for them to breathe, after a particularly load collective moan.

Antonio swore softly in Spanish, telling Lovino things were just as amazing for the Spaniard as they were for him. Antonio panted as the hand on Lovino's lower back slipped beneath his shirt, earning another moan of pleasure from the younger, "I love you, Romano." He leaned in to restore the kiss, but Lovino moved slightly. "Hmm?" Antonio looked to Lovino again, confusion deepening those beautiful emeralds of his.

"Lovino," Southern Italy softly responded.

"Huh?"

"That's my name, isn't it? Lovino is _who _I am, Romano is _what _I am. And…you love me for _who _I am, right?" Lovino looked into Antonio's eyes with a pleading look in his own. He absolutely needed the other to think and respond correctly to this.

"Lovino," Antonio whispered, as if trying it out. "Lovino," he repeated, running a finger down Lovino's cheek, "Lovino, I love you. For _everything _you are."

Lovino could've cried just then. Instead, he pulled Antonio close and kissed him with all the might he had. His hands roamed Antonio's back, appreciated the slightly muscular tone and the warmness it held.

The hand Antonio had rested on Lovino's cheek was now toying with his hair, that one especially sensitive point that sent him over the edge. A moan escaped his lips – a particularly loud one – and he had to part from Antonio's lips once again, for need or air. Antonio continued to gently pull at his hair, and Lovino was coming to the worrying conclusion that if this continued for much longer, he's have a little mess problem.

Blushing fiercely, Lovino forced himself to stutter his problem to Antonio.

"Ah, really?" The carefree Spaniard responded as he looked down at Lovino's zipper.

Lovino looked away in embarrassment.

"Can I touch it?"

"_W-what?_" Lovino asked in shock, managing a glimpse of Antonio's lust-covered eyes.

Antonio smiled. "Sicily! Can I touch it?" He laughed and added, "I can make your problem go away!"

Lovino went scarlet in embarrassment. He looked everywhere, at everything but Antonio, in attempt to calm himself down.

That's when reality set in once more, and he realized where they were.

"We're in a fucking _bathroom!_" He shouted, painful erection temporarily forgotten.

Antonio just laughed, oblivious as usual. "Yeah, I know!"

"Antonio," Lovino began, using the most serious voice he could muster in such a position, "I don't want to…do a thing like _that _in a place like _this._"

"I should've known!" Antonio shouted, forcing a tight hug with the younger. "In the excitement, I forgot how _romantic _you Italians are! But it should've been expected – Boss Spain_ is _the Kingdom of Passion, after all!" He backed off and looked Lovino in the eyes once more.

"You completely lost me, jerk." Lovino said flatly. The response had two meanings: he had stopped following what Antonio was talking about, and the mood was completely lost. The painful erection was there, yes, but he no longer desired Antonio's company in absolving it. For some reason, though, he didn't have the heart to send the elder away.

He thought about those sexual acts, those intimacies he had always imagined with Antonio but never had the guts to admit to.

Could he actually do them?

Lovino imagined the two of them going beyond just touching and kissing. It made his heart jump and face redden, but it was easy to visualize.

Then he tried thinking about doing such things with someone – anyone – else.

He couldn't.

That's when it hit him, all over again. Lovino looked Antonio straight in the eyes and said, "I love you."

Antonio smiled. "I love you too."

Their lips met once more, and the arm that was once cupping Lovino's lower back began to move frontwards and down. Slowly, deliberately, Antonio's hand moved to Lovino's pants, where it gently began to rub that aching bulge.

Lovino had to break the kiss to exhale and grunt with pleasure. No one had ever touched him there before…

"Can I do this?" Antonio whispered, close to Lovino's ear, as he continued rubbing.

"A-ah," Lovino managed, praying that Antonio would be able to understand what he meant.

He did. Nibbling at the nape of Lovino's neck, Antonio unbuttoned the Italian's pants and slipped a hand inside.

Lovino hissed with pleasure, wrapped his arms around Antonio's back and gripped his shirt with all the might he had.

That skilled, Spanish hand rubbed Lovino's especially sensitive flesh and wrapped itself around his shaft. Lovino groaned Antonio's name with pleasure, threw his head back against the bathroom wall. Tingles of pleasure ran throughout his body, even to his toes. It was amazing…

Antonio's hand pumped him for a little before dropping to his knees before Lovino.

"W-what are you doing?" Lovino managed, breathless. He looked down to Antonio, panting.

"Getting rid of your 'problem.'" Was the simple answer. A moment later, Antonio brought Lovino's penis out of his pants, rubbed it a bit more, and put his mouth around it.

Lovino closed his eyes, threw his head back. It was too amazing to look at. With his eyes closed, he felt even more powerful sensations coursing through him. He felt Antonio bob up and down, and he fought an incredible urge to thrust his hips in time with the other. He groaned with all the pleasure, tensed all over as he felt his finish just around the corner…

"A-ah…A-an…tonio...going to…cum…" His breathing was heavier now than it ever was as the time drew ever nearer.

He could've sworn he felt Antonio smile around him.

Antonio hummed, and that was the end. Lovino cried out uncontrollably as he released his fluids. His body felt like it was on a half-cold, half-warm fire. Everywhere, he was shaking.

He no longer held the strength to remain standing. Lovino leaned against the wall and sank to the floor, once more eye-level with Antonio. The Spaniard smiled and wiped the corners of his mouth on his hand. "Yum." He said with a smile.

Lovino was still panting uncontrollably as the sensations slowly worked themselves out of his system. He looked to Antonio, panting, sweating and completely satisfied.

Then he looked to Antonio's pants, which looked pretty tight, too.

Wordlessly – and still panting – Lovino pushed himself forward and began work on Antonio's pants.

The elder cooed with glee. "Ah, really? You'll help Boss Spain? You're so good, Lovino!" Antonio bent back and rested on his elbows as Lovino told him to shut up.

He tried to imitate what Antonio had done, wasn't sure if he was doing it right. Antonio cried out in joy and bucked upwards as Lovino licked at the head.

What did it taste like? There was no way he could describe it – he had never done anything like this before. Bitter, maybe. Not sour, not bad. Not exactly good, either, but not bad enough to never want to do this again.

"S-sorry if I do this wrong…" Lovino murmured as he took the whole thing in his mouth.

Antonio cried out again, whispered Lovino's name and managed, "Believe me, nothing you do like this could be wrong."

Encouraged, Lovino began bobbing. He focused on the taste of Antonio, realized it reminded him of overripe tomatoes. Lovino increased his speed, liking it more as he did it, and mentally swore at Antonio to stop moaning so loudly.

Lovino continued his licking and sucking, and soon enough Antonio was warning of release.

He thought about taking the protrusion out of his mouth, decided he wanted to know what cum tasted like.

Seconds later, he had his wish. Mouth full, Lovino sat upright and looked into Antonio's eyes. He swished the fluid around in his mouth, trying to decide what it reminded him of.

Antonio sat upright, too, and started apologizing. He began wiping remains off Lovino's mouth, but Lovino shook his head and pushed him away. He swallowed Antonio's cum and murmured, "You taste like tomatoes." He wiped the access away on his own.

"That's what I thought about you!" The other shouted, elated. They both took a moment to put everything back in their pants before Antonio continued, "So, did you like it?"

Lovino went red again, told him to shut up.

"Because I did!" Antonio continued, obliviously. "I thought you were awesome, Lovi!" He even patted Lovino's head.

Lovino _tsk_ed, tried to swat Antonio's hand away. "Shut up, stupid jerk!"

Antonio just laughed. "I'll make you breakfast now."

"As it should be," Lovino grunted as they stood, washed their hands, and exited the bathroom. "I can't believe you did all that just to distract me from food! I can't believe I let it work, too! Damn jerk!"

The Spaniard laughed again. "I definitely want something with tomatoes in it for breakfast."

Lovino went scarlet at the reference as they set to their task.

* * *

**A/n **

**This is so amazing, even for me to read :)))))))  
**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

He tried his best to work with Antonio and make breakfast without acting completely awkward, but he knew it was obvious.

He just felt so damn _weird. _

Not necessarily dirty, but not very clean, either. He wanted to lie down and sleep for a while, but he also felt like he needed to take a shower. He didn't want to wash away Antonio…more like he needed to recuperate from the shock. Lovino had never done anything like that before in his life, with anyone… Well, yes, he'd masturbated plenty of times, but having someone else there with him was just _odd. _

Not that he didn't like it.

He loved it. He wanted more of it, with more skin and romanticism. In a weird sort of way, he wanted to devour every part of Antonio, and he wanted Antonio to do the same. He wanted to be _one _with the bastard.

He couldn't concentrate on what he was doing. He kept making stupid mistakes because of it. Eventually Antonio had him sit at the kitchen table and wait.

Which was bad, because it gave him even less distraction. He could only think about what they had done, now, and it was tormenting him.

Not in a bad way. Just…it made him confused.

He never imagined his first intimacy with someone to occur in a _bathroom. _That was a little embarrassing to think about. But…he didn't regret it. If he had the power, he would make it happen again.

And then some.

It worried him, in a way, that Antonio didn't seem affected by what had occurred at all. Had he done this before? A lot of times? Jealousy crept through him at that thought, but he knew it was wrong. Antonio was older than him by quite a bit of time – of course he would have been with someone else, when Lovino was a child or even when he wasn't around.

Still, the thought of Antonio being with someone else and doing intimate things with someone else made Lovino's skin crawl. He wanted Antonio's heart to be his, wholly. He didn't want to accept that someone else had held it.

Assuming that there _had _been anyone else.

Whistling, Antonio set a place of pasta before him and took a seat. Lovino, still distracted, barely whispered his thanks and began eating. He was starving.

A long moment of silence passed. The longer it held, the tenser Lovino felt himself becoming. He didn't want any awkward moments with Antonio. He hated awkward moments with anyone.

Finally, the silence was broken when Antonio looked to him and said, "Is there anything wrong, Lovino?"

"Just thinking," he murmured as he pushed the pasta around on his plate. He was starving, but everything running through his mind was too much to bear.

Did that whole event make him seem easy? Did Antonio think less of him, now that he had given in without a fight?

Did Antonio enjoy it as much as he did? Did he think it was the best thing to ever happen to him, or was it 'okay'? Was he, right now, comparing what they had done to what he had done with others in the past? Did their actions rank at the top of Antonio's list, or was it closer to the bottom?

How long was Antonio's list?

He couldn't stand it any longer. "Antonio," he said loudly, forcing himself to look into the Spaniard's eyes, "have you ever been with anyone else?"

Antonio looked at him blankly. "What do you mean?"

A blush crept over Lovino's cheeks, and he felt stupid for asking the question aloud. But he had to continue; he had to know. "Like…like…_with _them. Like…us?" He gestured between them and hoped that Antonio would magically know what he was talking about.

Somehow, the other knew what he was asking. "Oh, sure. I've been with a couple other countries."

The unnecessary jealousy swept over Lovino once more, with a vengeance. He looked to his lap, frowning as he tried to push that jealousy down, and whispered, "Who?"

"Let's see. I was with Prussia, France, and England for a while. That's it."

Instantly, without meaning it, Lovino realized he hated those other countries. They didn't deserve Antonio, and never would. Lovino forced himself to look up into Antonio's eyes and said through gritted teeth, "Did you ever…do things with them?"

"Like, sex and stuff?" Antonio cocked his head to the side.

Lovino's hands, as they rested on his lap, curled themselves into tight fists. "Yes," he managed, trying his hardest to conceal all the negative emotions from Antonio as they bubbled over him.

"I've been intimate with all of them, multiple times."

Antonio's simple, carefree tone of voice brought tears of jealousy to Lovino's eyes. He felt like a stupid brat. Antonio's past shouldn't matter, because he was with Lovino now.

But it did. It was killing Lovino. He looked to his lap, desperate to fight down those stupid emotions and conceal them from Antonio.

It was in vain. Antonio moved closer to him and took his chin in his hand, lifted it up gently. Lovino, ashamed, could do nothing as tears streamed down his cheek. He looked everywhere but into Antonio's eyes. He realized how selfish and childish he was being, but he couldn't help it.

Antonio cooed and wiped away Lovino's tears. "You've always been so jealous," he whispered as he kissed the side of Lovino's mouth. Lovino looked to his lap again, ashamed and hating himself. "Lovino," Antonio whispered, but he didn't answer. "Lovino, look at me. Please?"

He did. It was all he could do.

Antonio kissed him softly, on the lips. "I've been with those people, sure. We've done things. That's what people in relationships do."

"I-I know that," Lovino choked, looking away and feeling stupid all over again.

The Spaniard took Lovino's face in either hand, brushed away stray hairs. "But, Lovino, I've never loved any of them."

This surprised Lovino enough to look the other in the eyes. "What?"

"I didn't love them. I never did. I've only ever loved you. Ever since I met you, I've loved you. And you're the only one I could ever love."

The tears were coming freely now, hot and salty. Lovino forced a hug with the other, buried his face in the elder's chest. For once, Antonio had said everything he needed to hear, and he said it perfectly. Relief washed over Lovino, and he couldn't stop the tears. Part of him didn't want to.

Lovino forced himself to back off Antonio's chest and looked the other in the eye. "I-I love you too, Antonio," he mumbled, barely able to keep the eye contact. But he knew he had to. Antonio probably needed to hear this as much as he had. "I've always loved you, too. I have never, _ever _loved anyone else, and I don't think I could."

Antonio smiled weakly. "I always make you cry," he whispered as he gently wiped the tears from Lovino's cheeks. "I'm sorry, Lovi." He kissed Lovino's cheek and straightened his hair.

"You're not the one who has to apologize, bastard," Lovino said softly. "I…shouldn't get so jealous…"

"I don't mind," Antonio assured him. "It reminds me that you really do love me."

Lovino's eyes stung, but were no longer complete waterfalls. He wiped the tears away with the backs of his wrists and whispered an apology.

Antonio ruffled his hair. "I think you're overtired."

He nodded numbly. "And I don't mean to be rude, but I really want to take a shower."

The Spaniard laughed. "Completely understandable! I kind of wanted to take one too."

Lovino managed a chuckle. He didn't feel so bad anymore.

His stomach grumbled, rather loudly. "I think I'll eat before I do anything else," he decided as he began work on the pasta.

Antonio smiled and returned to his own plate.

* * *

A little while later, Feliciano stumbled into the room. Lovino hastily guided him to a seat at the table and put a plate of pasta in front of him. The younger Italian immediately began work on the food. Silence passed.

Finally, Lovino broke the silence with what had to be said. "Is, um, Ludwig feeling better?"

He saw Feliciano physically wince at the reminder. He put his fork and spoon down, looked to the two of them, and murmured, "Uh, yeah, I think so." He was shaking all over.

"I'll just go see Ludwig and make sure the wound is healing correctly," Antonio murmured as he left the room.

"Hey," Lovino said softly as he took a seat beside his fratellino. "It's alright now. He's feeling better, right? He'll be okay."

Feliciano wrapped his arms around himself and continued to shake. "Fratello…I…I don't want to ever be bombed. A-and…I don't want to fight anymore…" Tears were welling at the corners of his eyes.

"We won't ever be bombed," Lovino assured, though he had no idea if that were true. "But, fratello, we must fight. Until the war is over."

Feliciano buried his hands in his hair, pulled at the roots in distress. "I…I can't handle it, fratello…It's so scary…And seeing Germany like that…"

"He'll be okay," Lovino repeated, more assertive this time. "Everything will work out alright. We just have to see this to the end."

Feliciano nodded numbly, though he didn't seem to believe Lovino's words completely.

"I think you need more food, a shower, and a longer rest," Lovino whispered as he ran his hands through Feliciano's hair.

Feliciano shook his head vigorously. "I want to go to the beach."

"What?" The suggestion caught Lovino so off-guard, he didn't know how else to respond.

"_The beach," _Feliciano insisted. "I want to go to the beach. I want a day off from all this."

Lovino frowned, thought to himself, _Countries can't really take days off from war… _But decided it was best not to voice those thoughts. Instead, he said, "Our boss will get pissed."

Feliciano shook his head. "I don't care. I want to go to the beach."

If Feliciano was really good at anything, it was being stubborn when he wanted something. The normally happy, passive country was always very stern and assertive when he wanted something badly enough.

"Okay," Lovino said with a sigh, "we'll go to the beach."

Feliciano sprang upwards, his normal self once again. "Ve! I'm going to go invite some friends!" He ran out of the room.

"Friends?" Lovino repeated softly. Who did he have to invite? Nearly all the countries they knew were fighting against them or busy minding their own business.

Lovino sighed once more. If this did in fact end well, it would most certainly be interesting.

* * *

Lovino, annoyed, began packing a bag full of things to bring to the beach. His fratellino could be so eccentric sometimes…

Beside him, Antonio was whistling and packing food. He, like Feliciano, was pretty eccentric in his own right. Going to the beach with the Axis Powers was like a death wish; the Allies, if they found out, could end up thinking Antonio had declared war against them in favor of the Axis. He already had no money because of his civil war – the Allies would ruin him if they thought he was taking a side. Lovino, in worry, had tried to convey this to the elder nation, but to no avail. Antonio wanted to go to the beach just as badly as Feliciano.

Feliciano definitely had the power of persuasion; somehow he had convinced Honda to tag along as well. And Ludwig, even though he was just beginning to recover from the bombing, had no choice but to go along with them. He was walking around now, and Feliciano insisted that he was well enough to go to the beach and enjoy the sun. Ludwig had pinched his nose in annoyance, but did nothing further to stop the younger Italian.

Feliciano ran into the kitchen, where everyone was collected, and shouted, "I just invited a bunch of friends to meet us there!" The fear of getting bombed, the worry for Ludwig, all of it was gone. As was his way.

Lovino turned to his fratellino. "Who did you invite?" His brow rose with suspicion.

"I called Big Brothers America, France, Russia, and China! Won't it be fun, to have us all in one place?"

An audible, collective groan rose from the rest of the countries present.

"Fratello, we're in a _war _here…" Lovino began.

"You can't just expect all of them to show up and have a good time with us," Ludwig continued, incredulous.

"And how is Spain-san supposed to go without getting into trouble?" Honda interjected.

"What are you guys talking about?" Feliciano asked, oblivious. "It'll be really fun!"

Ludwig, Lovino, and Honda groaned. Antonio just laughed as he continued packing food.

"Don't forget an umbrella," Feliciano said to Lovino.

He rolled his eyes and went off to fetch one.

* * *

**A/n **

**I'm trying to lighten the mood of this fic a bit, so they're all going to have fun at the beach o0. I know that's weird...  
**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

The Axis Powers – and Spain – set up at the beach, and Feliciano immediately stripped down to his boxers. He ran off into the water, completely oblivious to everything, shouting, "Splash! Splash!"

From his hideout under the big umbrella, Lovino groaned. This was definitely not a good idea.

Ludwig started a fire with the firewood Honda had gone off and collected. Antonio was working on making a meal for everyone.

Lovino took a stick from the firewood pile and began drawing faces in the sand, his mind far away.

Not much later, someone yelled from the other end of the beach, "Hey, I found you!"

They all looked over towards the voice to see Alfred waving and running over.

When he made it, Lovino said bluntly, "Wow, I didn't expect anyone else to show."

Alfred cocked his head to the side and studied Lovino. "Who are you, again?"

America laughed as Southern Italy made to attack him, but was held back by Spain.

Alfred raised an eyebrow when he noticed Antonio was the one holding Lovino back. "Heeeeyyyyyy, aren't you Spain?" Antonio nodded and smiled. "You're not an Axis Ally, are you?" When Antonio shook his head, Alfred just shrugged and said, "Ah, whatever. I'm really only in this war for _you, _Japan." He pointed and stared angrily.

"Americaaaaaaaa!" Feliciano shouted happily as he ran over to the group. "You came!"

They _hugged. _The two enemies actually _hugged _and seemed happy to see one another!

Lovino pinched himself.

Yep, he was awake.

"I thought you hated us," Ludwig said carefully. "What made you decide to come?"

"I'm _America_!" Alfred said simply, giving a thumbs-up sign. "So what if we're supposed to be fighting? I'm America, Home of the Free! I can do whatever the hell I want, no matter what that _stupid_ England says!"

Alfred and Feliciano ran off to the water and fell in with shrieks of laughter.

The quartet continued on in silence, Lovino watching the two water-bound nations in amazement. Finally he broke the silence, "Wow."

Antonio just laughed.

"I suppose it is good to see countries that are supposed to be fighting getting along, even if it is just for a little while," Honda mused.

Ludwig _hmm_ed and poked at the fire.

More silence passed.

Lovino was the first to break it, once again. "What the fuck?" He looked around him, to the others. "What the fuck are we doing? We're in a _war _here!"

"Calm down, Lovino," Antonio responded. "Today we're not in a war. Today we're all just having some fun. Churro?"

Lovino took the churro without complaint, though he mumbled about how stupid they were all being.

A little while later, other nations showed up to the beachside gathering. Every single one of them showed up, looking ridiculous in their boxers and carrying towels over their shoulders.

"What the fuck?" Lovino repeated as the other nations began setting up their towels. "Are they fucking crazy?" He asked Antonio.

The Spaniard smiled. "Just enjoy the peace while it lasts, Lovi. Go swim with Veneziano and America."

"I think I'll pass," Lovino grumbled with a fold of his arms.

Ivan approached Ludwig, a leashed-Gilbert beside him. "Look, Germany! I brought my pet Prussia for you to play with!"

Ludwig automatically stood. "Bruder?" He whispered as he looked over Gilbert.

"You can play with him for a while, if you like." Ivan said happily as he handed over the leash. "Just don't let him off the leash, or he might run away!" He left the little alcove of friends in favor of China.

Contrary to his orders, Ludwig removed the leash from Gilbert's neck. Then the Germanic nations went off, down the beach, alone.

Lovino watched them go and said to Antonio, "I will never let that happen to me and Feliciano."

"Hmm?" Antonio looked up from his plate of churros. "Oh. It happens to countries all the time…They get their land stolen by other countries, they become separated from each other – possibly forever…it's inevitable, really."

Lovino felt himself shake all over at the idea of loosing Feliciano. At first he had always felt like he didn't need his fratellino, but now that they were unified, he dreaded the idea of living without him.

Not that he would ever admit that, of course.

Even if he didn't, he knew there was a tacit understanding between he and his brother; Feliciano made it obvious how he felt, but Lovino didn't need to. They were close enough to know things about the other without ever saying anything.

A little ways off, Feliciano and Alfred left the water in favor of making a sand castle. Arthur stood a little ways off, arms crossed, and chastised Alfred for not being a proper gentleman. Francis jibbed at Arthur, and they were fighting within seconds. A little father off, Ivan was trying to convince Wang to 'become one with Mother Russia.'

Lovino observed all of the countries interact idly and couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. He knew that he would never be like Feliciano; he would never be friends with the other nations of the world, because he himself was not a real nation. Feliciano was Italy – Lovino was just a tag-along, would never really have a place in world meetings.

Lovino sighed and leaned against Antonio's shoulder. At least, if he was not recognized as a nation, he was recognized as a person. By a few, at least. That was really all he needed anyway.

"What's wrong, Lovi?" Antonio asked as he wrapped an arm around him.

"Same old," he mumbled. He had always felt envious of his fratellino, and this was exactly why. When people thought of Italy, Feliciano came to mind. People never thought of Lovino, never really acknowledged what he represented, since that was now obsolete.

Did that mean he was obsolete too?

Lovino snorted in disgust and rolled his eyes. Feliciano needed him, and Antonio loved him. That was enough.

"Want a tomato? I packed some for you." Antonio rummaged in his basket for a tomato and offered it to Lovino.

He took it without thinking, bit into it without really caring. The tomato juice slipped down his throat, and as he concentrated on it, he began to feel a little better.

Feliciano and Alfred ran over to them, then, soaking wet and laughing. "Fratello," Feliciano began as the two took a seat nearby, "come join us for a swim! Aren't you hot?"

Lovino thought about it as he sat upright. He _was _hot.

With that tacit understanding of his, Feliciano knew what Lovino's actions meant. "Come swim, fratello!" Alfred happily agreed.

Lovino _tsk_ed with annoyance as he pulled his shirt over his head. He stood, and his pants followed suit, leaving him in nothing but his swimming shorts which were, like Feliciano's, modeled after the Italian flag.

"Ah, Lovino, you look so good in your swimming shorts!" Antonio noted happily from behind him.

Automatically, Lovino responded, "Shut up you bastard!" And, just as automatically, his cheeks began to turn a red color.

"His aren't as amazing as mine," Alfred noted, drawing attention away from Lovino and to himself. Lovino was partially thankful for this, partially annoyed.

"That ugly-ass banner is not amazing, jerk!" Lovino replied. "Stars and Stripes," he continued with a snort and a fold of his arms, "what's so amazing about that? It looks just like _England's _flag."

Alfred gasped. "You take that back!"

"I refuse!"

In seconds, the two of them were on the ground, rolling around and shouting profanity at one another. Lovino knew it was all play; he could tell by the way Alfred was rolling him around and pinning him down, firmly but not assertively. And if he listened closely, he could hear the blonde giggling between insults.

Lovino felt exactly the same. He had never had this much fun with another nation since he was a young child. He had never had the chance to play with other nations, and if he had, they had treated him as a runt, someone they could use when they want and throw away when they were ready.

But America was still a young nation, and he was not looking towards imperialization. He didn't see Lovino – Italy – as inferior, because he received so much from the European nation. From _all _of the European nations.

He was definitely beginning to like Alfred.

They climbed to their feet, panting and smiling. "I like you," the blonde offered with a smile as he wiped spit away from the corners of his mouth.

Lovino smirked, straightened out of his playful stance. "You're not so bad yourself." They offered one another their fists, pounded lightly in camaraderie.

The two young nations began to walk down the coastline of the beach, away from everyone else. They began talking, first about themselves, then their pasts, then the war and how they ended up involved in it.

"Living across the ocean," Alfred began, "I've never had the chance to make friends, not really. All I've ever known is Arthur, Francis, and Mathew. Even when I became my own nation, I never really got a chance to bond with anyone else. For a while, I was prospering, trading with all the great nations and loving life on the sidelines. There was nothing going on – no real wars against anybody I didn't know – for most of my life.

"When I heard Arthur and Francis were going into a war against other countries, I didn't really care about it. I made a profit by selling weapons and rations and stuff to countries in need, usually one of those two, since I didn't really know anyone else. I didn't get involved in World War One because I just didn't know anyone, and had no reason to fight them. I had no allies that needed protection."

Alfred went silent for a moment and looked out at the beach and the horizon beyond it. Then he continued, "I really only entered World War Two because of Japan. He bombed me."

At the word _bombed_, Lovino was instantly reminded of the puking and bleeding and horrible gaping wounds Ludwig suffered. He shuddered and asked, "Where did it hit?" He was fighting against this person, but he suddenly realized he knew close to nothing about the other nation. He knew Honda had bombed him, but he wasn't sure where or why. All he knew was that he was fighting this nation now, this nation that was just a century older than the unified Italy.

"He bombed Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii," Alfred responded softly with a shudder of his own. He turned on an angle and pulled the rim of his shorts down just a bit, so Lovino could see the damage.

Staring back at him was an ugly, still-healing wound on the backside of Alfred's hip. It didn't look like it had gone all the way through like Ludwig's had, but it looked just as painful and bloody. A pang of guilt rushed through Lovino – he remembered when Honda made the announcement of the bombing. He remembered feeling a rush of pride for the previously-isolated nation, remembered feeling happier for all of them. He had thought he had gotten one-up on what he believed was the bad guy.

When in reality, Honda had bombed a nation that really had nothing to do with the war. Sure, Alfred was giving supplies to their enemies Arthur and Francis. But nearly every nation in the world had something to do with the war, even if it were indirectly, as in Alfred's case. Nearly every major nation of the time was giving help to one side or the other. So why was Alfred the one to take the blame?

Alfred tucked the wound away and turned to face Lovino once more. "Ever been bombed, dude?"

Lovino shook his head rapidly, held himself as shivers ran down his spine. He didn't even want to think about what it was like to be bombed.

The blonde sighed and shook his head. "It shouldn't happen to anyone. It sucks."

A tidbit of information smacked Lovino in the face, just then. "But…Ludwig…Arthur bombed him just recently!"

Arthur nodded sadly. "I know. I helped."

Hate began to swirl through Lovino – hate at himself for once feeling guilt and friendship towards the younger nation, and hate at the blonde for helping Arthur commit such a horrible, unnecessary attack against his German ally.

It was all he could do not to hit Alfred, or scream at him. "How could you –?" He began, but was interrupted by the younger.

"If Arthur's taught me anything useful, it's that you can't take everything – wars and all – personal. Things come and they go, and you have to let it happen. If you fight it and take personal vengeance out on everyone that does you wrong, you create more than just wars. You create international hostility that the rest of the world can feel. And what's the point in that? You just end up messing everything up." Alfred looked first to the horizon, then down to their feet as he kicked at some seashells.

Lovino stared at the younger nation in shock. He had never thought about things that way before…Of course, he hadn't needed to; Feliciano made all of the decisions for their country. And…maybe it was better that way.

Feliciano never held grudges for anything that was done to him. He forgave and moved on. He lived in the moment and tried to be friends with everyone.

Wasn't that what a country was supposed to do? How could anyone move on if they lived in the past and hated all those who wronged them? Especially countries. The more Lovino thought about it, the more sense it made.

The oldest country at the beach was probably Wang, China. Assuming that were true, Lovino went through his mental repertoire of China's history and all the wars it had been in. If Wang had held grudges against every nation he had ever fought, he would be in seclusion for eternity.

"Wow," Lovino murmured, "I never thought about things that way."

Alfred slipped a candy bar out of his pocket and nodded. "How do you think I got over fighting so much with Arthur and Francis?"

"Actually, I don't know much about American history," Lovino admitted with a weak smile.

Alfred just chuckled and continued moving down the beach. Lovino followed after, and Alfred began the history of his country.

* * *

"Wow," Lovino whispered as Alfred finished the explanation. "So you're almost…like Arthur's son." Alfred nodded affirmatively. "Isn't the friendship now awkward?"

"It'd be more awkward if we _weren't _friends," America answered. "I couldn't stand to live under his rule for a second longer, but I couldn't stand to live completely without him, either. It would just be too weird."

Lovino thought about that for a moment, gave it time to sink in. Antonio wasn't the reason for his existence, but he had played a major role in Southern Italy's uprising. If they had just broke off contact from one another after he slipped out from under Antonio's thumb…Yeah, it would definitely be more awkward. It wasn't even that awkward now; their relationship was too concrete to question or destroy. Changing that _would _make things weird.

"It's weird," Lovino admitted, "I never thought about any of these things this way before. I just kind of accepted it and continued on."

Alfred nodded, and they began to head back to the setup area.

The rumbling of Lovino's stomach told him it was dinnertime, or close to it. His mouth watered as they drew nearer to the Axis' sitting area; the air was intoxicated with the scent of churros and other Spanish food.

Instead of responding gratefully when they approached, Lovino said angrily, "Ehi, bastard! Why the hell are you cooking all this Spanish food? Where's the pasta?"

"Don't worry, Fratello!" Feliciano said from aside Antonio as he poured pasta into a pot of boiling water, "I brought extra provisions so that we could have all the pasta we could eat!"

"I thought you _liked _paella!" Antonio cried, looking down to the plate toppling with paella with what seemed to be a tear in his eye.

Guilt turned itself into a ball in Lovino's throat. "Of course I like it, jerk," he mumbled as he swiped a handful of the stuff from the plate and began shoving it into his mouth.

Antonio smiled again, and it felt like a radiant sunshine was being washed over Lovino.

"Well, I'll see ya later," Alfred said as he moved off to the Allies' area, which was just beside the Axis'. They were two inches away from each other.

"You realize I could still talk to you from here, right?" Lovino said with a roll of his eyes. He didn't even have to raise his voice.

Alfred was already shoving an immeasurable amount of snacks into his mouth.

Lovino sighed in annoyance and took a seat at Antonio's free side. Seated around the fire, clockwise, were Antonio, Lovino, Feliciano, Ludwig, Gilbert, and Francis. Honda was a little ways off, still in their area and yet in an area of his own. Somehow, seating arrangements always ended up that way.

The Bad Friends Trio were mostly talking on their own, catching up on things – since Francis and Antonio had no way to contact Gilbert anymore – and Feliciano and Ludwig were working on the pasta, cuddling when there was no work to be done.

Lovino surveyed this scene for a moment, feeling incredibly left out, before he decided to make a move.

He threw himself onto Antonio's hips, wrapped his arms around them, and rested his head on Antonio's leg. Lovino clenched his eyes shut and concentrated on slowing his heartbeat as he told himself that Antonio would never reject this show of affection.

The conversation Antonio was having halted for a moment, and Lovino could sense three pairs of eyes on him. He stood his ground and opened one eye slightly, to take more paella from the plate.

Then Antonio laughed happily and gently ran his fingers through Lovino's hair.

The conversation continued.

Lovino felt a sigh of relief escape his lips. He opened his eyes and took another bite of the paella, tried not to focus on how turned on Antonio's fingers running through his hair was making him.

"How long have you too been together?" Francis tried, and failed, to whisper to Antonio.

"Long enough," Antonio responded. Lovino swore he could hear the smile in that Spaniard's voice. Antonio's hand disengaged itself from Lovino's hair and instead moved the Italian's hair from his face, so that the left side of Lovino's face was completely visible to the other.

He tried to will the blush on his cheeks to fade.

"Ah!" Francis sighed, "it's _amour__!_"

"Shut up, you perv," Lovino mumbled as he bit into his paella once more.

Francis clicked his tongue, but otherwise made no attempt to refute the accusation.

Soon enough, Feliciano's pasta was done. Naturally, it was finished just when Lovino was starting to drift off into slumber from being so comfortable.

Grumbling about the timing of things, Lovino forced himself to sit upright and accepted a plate of pasta from the younger. Immediately, his mouth began to water. Nothing was better than pasta.

After finishing – it never took the Italians long to gulp down their pasta supply – conversation picked up for a little bit, before Feliciano climbed to his feet.

"Let's all go swimming!" He declared as he shrugged off the jacket Ludwig had lent him to keep from getting cold.

Alfred, at the Allies' area, heard this and ran over. "Yeah! Let's go swimming!"

Antonio laughed and stood. "Alright, I'm game! I've been sitting here too long anyway."

Lovino looked up to the Spaniard in shock, though he had expected the elder to go swimming far earlier. "Y-you're going?" He stuttered, unsure of what else to say.

"Why not? C'mon, Lovi, come with us!" Antonio forced the younger to his feet.

Gilbert, Ludwig, and Francis stood as well. "I'm too awesome to just sit around and do nothing," the former-Prussian added as he shed his clothes.

"Swimming is just so romantic," Francis added as he stripped. "Oh Arthur! Do join us!"

Arthur came over, grumbling something, but didn't argue. He began to strip his clothes off as well. Even Wang and Ivan ran over in their swimming trunks, laughing as they ran into the water until their legs could no longer support them.

Feliciano and Alfred followed suit, tackled one another into the water and began splashing.

Francis made a purposeful jibe at Arthur and ran away from the charging Englishman, towards the water.

Gilbert followed after them, and Ludwig marched dutifully behind his brother.

Even Honda, though he preferred not to go far into the water, had taken a seat at the beach's end, so that the water came up and swirled around him.

Lovino studied the happy scene for a moment and decided he wanted to be a part of it. He turned to his right, where Antonio still stood.

"Are you going to go in, Roma?" Antonio said, a smile usurping his features.

Lovino couldn't hide the smile on his own face as he nodded.

Antonio cheered and took his shirt off.

Lovino stared at the elder's chest, took as much of it in as he could. It was naturally tanned, and had some muscle to it, but wasn't as tough-looking as Ludwig's bare chest. The more Lovino looked at it, the more he wanted to touch it…It was just so alluring.

His eyes wandered down Antonio's chest, slowly, appreciating everything they took in.

They finally made their way to Antonio's bellybutton, took in the light, barely noticeable hair that led below his pants.

That brought Lovino's attention to Antonio's pants, which made him gulp when he thought of what lay beyond. All of a sudden, his mouth was dry and his palms were a little sweaty. His heart was racing, and he realized how badly he _wanted _Antonio.

Antonio's hands came into view and began to work on the button holding his pants up.

Lovino inhaled sharply in surprise. Had the Spaniard read his mind again? "What are you –?" Before he could finish the sentence, he realized Antonio was only taking his pants off so that they could go swimming; he wasn't planning on taking his swimming trunks off as well.

Southern Italy wasn't sure if he felt relieved or annoyed; he had almost tackled the Spaniard in front of everyone else there. But he _wanted _the bastard, regardless of who was there…

Antonio asked him something about going in the water, but he wasn't listening anymore. All he could think about was pulling the elder close and kissing him like there was no tomorrow. Or at least rubbing his hands all over his chest.

The elder said something else, bringing Lovino's gaze to meet the other's. Wordlessly, Lovino stepped closer so that their bodies were almost touching and wrapped his arms around Antonio's neck. Before Antonio could finish asking what he was doing, Lovino planted his lips on Antonio's.

He could feel Antonio responding, both though his lips and his body. The elder began to kiss back – not roughly, but not gently, either – and rested his hands on Lovino's hips. Lovino grunted and dug his fingers into Antonio's back, as if the other would just disappear if he didn't hold him tightly enough.

That was when the cat-calling began. From the beach, the voices of Gilbert and Alfred called to them.

"Dinner _and _a show!" Gilbert cheered.

Alfred gave a sexy whistle and stood upright in the water to sway his hips seductively.

Lovino could feel his face and blood boiling. He didn't know which emotion would win; destructive anger or complete embarrassment.

Antonio just laughed, broke away from the Italian completely. "C'mon, Lovi, let's go for a swim!"

Lovino let his anger win and ran to the water, splashed in and began attacking America yet again. Beside him, Antonio was laughing and splashing Gilbert.

The nations played like that for a while, completely forgot they were supposed to be mortal enemies. As the sun began to set, however, the countries slowly worked their way out of the water in favor of warm clothes and a toasty fire.

Alfred, Antonio, Lovino, Feliciano, Ludwig, and Gilbert were the last to leave the water. When they finally did, night had already fallen, and they were shaking from the cold. Silently, they all agreed to end their waterfight in favor of clothes and a fire.

When they were all dry, clothed, and seated, Alfred bust out a huge white bag. "Time for s'mores!" He shouted happily as he took a small stick and pushed it into a raw marshmallow.

All of the other nations took sticks and roasted marshmallows as well.

"Here, Lovi," Antonio said as he offered his cooked marshmallow to the younger, "I made this for you!"

Lovino took the perfect, golden-brown marshmallow off the other's stick and popped it into his mouth. He pulled his own stick out of the fire, only to find that his marshmallow was black and on fire. Lovino blew it out hastily and then, unsure, offered it to Antonio.

Antonio laughed. "I love these kinds of marshmallows! They're all gooey on the inside." He took Lovino's marshmallow stick and at the sticky remainder off of it.

Lovino gulped at the thought: Antonio was licking up the sticky remainder of something off something hard.

The thought made his heart race, but it also annoyed him.

Since when was he such a pervert?

Lovino tsked and looked away in annoyance, wanting to think about anything but that damn Spaniard naked.

It was impossible.

* * *

**A/n **

**Huge chapter, I know. Ten pages! There was just so much I wanted to incorporate into this...and kinda wrote itself. These things always do o0. Did you enjoy the Spamano smut? I was expecting more to appear, but it didn't work out...And what about Romano's newfound friendship with America? Stupid, original, cool? Review to your heart's content, I beg of you! :)  
**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Some time later – when the moon was high in the night sky – the gathering of nations was broken in favor of sleep, hot baths, and better food.

The parting was a little sad, especially when Lovino remembered that tomorrow morning, bright and early, they would all be enemies again.

He tried to think of everything the way Alfred had suggested, to just accept it for what it was and continue living. But it was hard; Lovino felt betrayed because the very nations he had just made friends with could bomb him at any moment.

How was one supposed to live like that?

The saddest part of the day ending, though, was seeing Gilbert and Ludwig as Ivan forced them apart. It was as though they were being torn apart for the first time, all over again. Feliciano had to coax his blonde lover away from his platinum brother.

Ludwig cried all the way back.

Not loud, screeching sobs – no, Ludwig's tears were of the worst kind.

They were silent. One could probably overlook that he was crying at all, if they had not noticed his droopy, shaking shoulders and failure to keep his gaze straight ahead. Feliciano held the larger country's hand the entire way, whispering so low that only they could hear.

Feeling guilty, Lovino walked ahead of them with Antonio, hand in hand. He tried to focus his attention on the feeling of Antonio's hand in his – for once, he wanted to encourage the perverseness – but he was feeling too guilty to do even that. For some reason, he felt as though he was responsible for the separation of brothers.

Antonio squeezed Lovino's hand lightly, grabbing his attention. When they were looking at one another, Antonio smiled softly.

Lovino knew exactly what he was saying: _Bad things happen to good people. It's not your fault. _

* * *

The rest of the night went by in a flurry of events, and Lovino was too tired to remember them. All he knew was that he found himself lying on top of an equally knocked-out Antonio the next morning. Waking to Antonio's scent and the harmonic sound of his breathing brought a calm over Lovino, allowed him the peace of mind he desperately needed just then.

He inhaled deeply, appreciating Antonio's familiar, drug-like scent and let his mind wander. He thought of everything that had occurred at the beach yesterday, thought of what happened before they left for the beach, thought of going home with Antonio.

Subconsciously, Lovino brought his hand up to Antonio's chest and began drawing imaginary circles with his finger. Antonio breathed lightly, and on that breath whispered something about tomatoes. Lovino felt the muscles around his lips pull them into a smile, but he didn't mind. For once, he felt comfortable, safe, happy. He had always felt that way in Antonio's arms, but it had been centuries since the two of them had been able to be together like this without awkwardness.

"I love you, Antonio," Lovino whispered as he craned his neck up to see the elder's face.

The Spaniard was still asleep, but Lovino didn't mind; it gave him a chance to admire Antonio's sleeping face, which was both cute and hilarious.

Carefully, so as not to wake the other, Lovino moved off Antonio's chest and crept upwards, so their faces were aligned better. He buried his face in Antonio's neck, appreciating the scent, and wrapped an arm around the other. Lovino cuddled in close and began to whisper an Italian love song in Antonio's sleeping ear.

Before he was finished, he felt the elder stirring beneath his arm. He contemplated moving his arm away, but was unable to do so in time.

Antonio rolled onto his side to face him and smiled. "Ah, what a wonderful way to wake up!" He embraced Lovino as well and continued, "Lovi, I had a dream you were singing to me! It was so beautiful."

Lovino rolled his eyes, decided he didn't want to explain to the elder that his dream had been reality. Antonio would definitely make him sing again if he did.

"Breakfast," Lovino grumbled instead.

Antonio laughed. "Ah, okay!" They sat up, stretched, and made their way to the kitchen.

At the table were Feliciano and Ludwig, talking in hushed voices. When they saw Lovino and Antonio enter, they leaned in even closer to one another and spoke in an even softer tone. Feliciano seemed thoroughly distressed, to the point of tears. Ludwig seemed just as stressed, though he wasn't about to cry.

"What the hell is this?" Lovino asked as he took a seat, annoyed that the two would speak in such hushed voices, as though he wasn't meant to hear what they were saying.

Antonio took a seat beside Lovino, put a plate of bruschetta before him. Lovino began work on the snack immediately, though his gaze remained fixed on the main members of the Axis Powers.

A few moments slipped by, in which Ludwig and Feliciano continued to whisper to one another. Lovino, his temper rising, pounded the table and shouted, "What the hell are you two whispering about? And where the fuck is Japan?"

The two looked to him, though Antonio kept his gaze fixed on his food, as though he were afraid of what might happen if he looked up. Tendrils of guilt began to creep over Lovino, but he used his anger to ignore it.

Finally, Ludwig sighed and said, "We're losing the war, Romano."

Lovino, in shock, let his anger be forgotten and slowly retracted his fist from the table. He looked from Ludwig to Feliciano, to Antonio, and back again before murmuring, "What makes you think that? W-we're doing fine…"

Though he knew it was a lie. He could feel it, an ache in his bones; the toll the war was having on his body, on Italy. Each day it grew stronger, the weakness, though he had refused to admit it to anyone. The weakness was raging through his bones and was growing to his joints, like an anemia, until it actually hurt when he lay down to rest at night. It was easy to not think about it, to push the fatigue off to the back of his mind, but always, at the end of the day, it came back to him. The lack of sleep provided by the war was not doing much to help, either.

Antonio got up, took Lovino's empty plate, washed them, and left the room. Lovino followed him warily, worried.

"Fratello," Feliciano said softly, breaking Lovino's attention on the Spaniard, "I know you can feel it. The ache." He took Lovino's hands in his and held them up weakly.

Lovino frowned as he looked into Feliciano's eyes. He knew his fratellino could already see the answer in his own.

"After much discussion," Ludwig continued with a cough to catch the brothers' attention, "Italia and I have decided that it would be best if the two of you surrendered to the Allies."

Lovino's eyes widened in shock. He looked to Feliciano, who was now crying softly, and immediately began to wipe the tears away. It was a force of habit. "Are you sure?" Lovino murmured as he whispered comforting Italian phrases to his fratellino.

"If Italy surrenders to the Allies," Ludwig began, his voice full of pain, "you will not have to pay the reparations for losing. You can continue to prosper and rebuild."

Despite his attempts at comforting Feliciano, the younger's tears began to fall with a greater intensity. "What about you?" Lovino managed as he continued his attempts in calming the younger down.

"After the war ends, Italia can come see me again…if he desires. And, if you two find the resources, you can help me rebuild," Ludwig visibly winced at the mention of taking money from someone else.

Lovino thought about the decision before him, bit his lip. He didn't want the war to continue much longer – he doubted his body or the rest of Italy could handle it – but part of him didn't want to declare war on Ludwig, either. He wasn't supposed to like the guy, but deep down – really far down – he did. This person was always there for his fratellino when he couldn't be; he was always repairing Feliciano's mistakes, feeding him his favorite food, comforting him when he needed it.

This man was the love of his dear little brother's life, whether he liked the guy or not. He had to think of Feliciano's feelings in this. Was declaring war against the Axis really the right thing to do?

"Where's Japan?" Lovino asked once more, in attempts to stall his decision-making. He knew this whole thing relied on him; he supplied Feliciano with most of the manpower for their armies. Without the manpower, there was no war.

"I sent him on an errand," Ludwig responded stoically, "he'll be gone for a while. Long enough for you two to call the Allies and surrender."

Lovino ground his teeth; he hated being told what to do, even if it was just a suggestion or hint.

But there was no other choice, was there?

Sighing heavily, Lovino made the decision. "Fine," he grumbled, angry about the whole thing, "Feliciano and I will go call the Allies immediately."

* * *

Trembling, Feliciano held the phone to his ear and dialed the number for England's house. He twirled the wire of the phone around his finger nervously, danced a little as he waited for the phone to be picked up. Lovino stood at his right and slightly behind, as always, and whispered words of encouragement to the younger. He reminded Feliciano not to blurt out their intentions immediately, but to call for a meeting in an area of the Allies' choice. Part of him wondered why he didn't make the call instead of Feliciano, but then he remembered that no one of the Allies really took him seriously.

The phone must have been picked up on the other end, because Feliciano began, "Uh, c-ciao. I-is Mr. Kirkland there, by any chance?"

Lovino leaned into Feliciano's free ear and gently reminded him not to stutter or sound more pathetic than the Allies already took them to be. He rested a hand on Feliciano's hair, petted the tiniest bit.

"A-ah, buon giorno, signor Kirkland…" Feliciano began after the phone had been transferred to the desired listener. Lovino calmly reminded his fratellino to use more English than Italian. He murmured that Feliciano was doing an excellent job as the younger continued, "I…would like to request a meeting with you and the other members of the Allies." There was a pause. "Whenever and wherever you desire, um, sir." Another pause. "Yes, under any conditions."

Lovino whispered that Feliciano's decision just then may not have been wise. He rubbed Feliciano's scalp reassuringly and promised things would still work out. Feliciano continued to twirl the wire of the phone around his finger and dance nervously.

"Okay. Grazie." A moment later, Feliciano hung the phone up with a heavy sigh.

"So?" Lovino prompted, just as nervous as Feliciano was.

"I have to meet them in London tomorrow."

"Just you?" Lovino raised an eyebrow in concern.

"I think you can go, but Germany and Japan can't."

Lovino nodded. He had expected as much. "Let's get all of your things packed, then."

Feliciano shook his head. "I don't have anything of importance here. I'll just leave it until the war ends and I can visit whenever I want."

Lovino studied Feliciano for a moment, opened his arms. Feliciano flew into them and squeezed tightly. "Don't be scared," Lovino whispered, "everything will get better after this. The war will end, and you'll be able to visit…Ludwig as often as you want."

"I'm sorry," Feliciano mumbled into Lovino's chest, "I know all of this has gotten in between you and Big Brother Spain. When the war is over, you guys can go back to seeing each other every day if you wanted to. I'm sorry I dragged us into this."

"Don't say that," Lovino cooed as he rubbed his fratellino's back, "it takes more than one country to wage a war. It's not your fault. Antonio and I will figure something out."

It was always like this, between the two of them; Feliciano was the one that ruled the country, but he often made the most mistakes and didn't know how to fix them. Lovino was always there for his fratellino, to comfort him when things went wrong and silently pick up the shattered pieces from the background. He was used to this.

That was why the idea of Ludwig in the picture had always pissed him off; with Ludwig around, there was no need to worry about Feliciano making mistakes, because the German did all of the work. And when accidents did occur and needed fixing, Ludwig was always the man for the job. Feliciano trusted the blonde with everything, right down to tying his shoe laces. This made Lovino obsolete, which he hated more than anything. He was a person, too! Why didn't anyone ever recognize that?

"Thank you for always being there for me," Feliciano whispered. "I don't know what I would do without you."

It was then that Lovino was reminded why he didn't mind taking the backseat of the two.

* * *

**A/n **

**So, what did you think of my idea for Italy surrendering to the Allies? I thought it made it really sad :O. **

**I had someone review an earlier chapter, saying that they didn't really see the plotline for this story. And I kinda agree. I don't want to make it obvious and announce it on here...yet...but I'll say that the plotline is pretty subtle, and everything that's happening is pretty much background detail. We'll see if that helps :D **

**The way this is going, it should be finished in a few more chapters. I'm excited and sad at the same time :'(. I won't ruin anything by mentioning how I'm going to end it...I'll just say everyone here will be really happy with it :). Hope you liked!  
**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

The two brothers left the office in a collectively somber mood. Each went separate ways in search of their lovers, to break the news and soak in all the time they had left. In just twenty-four hours, everything would be changing. The two of them would have to stay with the Allies'– probably in London. Ludwig would be left alone with Honda, and Antonio would probably go back to his house until the war ended.

And only god knew when that would be. Only god knew when he'd be able to see Antonio again, after today.

Queasy, Lovino made his way to his and Antonio's shared bedroom. Antonio wasn't there, but he heard familiar Spanish singing coming from the adjacent bathroom.

Numbly, he went and knocked on the door. "Antonio," he mustered, though his voice came out raspy as he called the other's name. Antonio continued his singing, so Lovino banged harder and put his entire voice into shouting the other's name. _Damn, he can be such a pain sometimes…_

"Ah, Lovi?" Antonio called from the other side of the door, "Is that you?"

"Of course it's me, moron!" Lovino shouted back angrily.

"Okaaayyy! I'll be out in a few minutes!" He went back to singing his song.

Lovino's throat dried along with the courage he had been trying to muster. He had wanted to ask the other if he could join him in the shower…Besides, who knew when they would be able to be…together again?

_Intimate. _Lovino thought with a determined swallow. He opened the door to the bathroom with a nervous cough, closed it behind him. _Be a man, moron. This is what you want. Go after it. _

_You don't know when you'll be able to have it again. _

"Ahhhh, Lovi, is that you?" Antonio called as he peeked out from behind the shower curtain, his hair full of suds. "What are you doing here?" He prodded as Lovino stood there, frozen.

"Shut up," Lovino ordered as he began working his clothes off.

Antonio gasped. "Is Lovi going to take a shower with Boss?"

Lovino told him to shut up once more as he shakily pulled his ankles out of the pants that now lay on the floor. Fiercely red, Lovino took his boxers off and climbed into the shower.

The Spaniard greeted him warmly, instantly began eyeballing the contours of Lovino's body.

Lovino barely noticed, though, because he was doing the same to Antonio.

"Lovino," Antonio sang as he took a step closer, "you're so cute…It will last forever…"

Lovino took a step back as Antonio stepped forward, attempted to control his shaky breath and beating heart.

Finally, Lovino's back touched the wall of the shower, giving him nowhere else to go. He looked to his side feebly, then turned his attention back to the sexiest thing he had ever seen as it continued to approach.

"Lovino!" Antonio shouted happily as he forced a hug with the younger, "You are so cute! I can't stand it!"

Lovino stood there, completely immobile, as Antonio's arms held him close. All of the skin-on-skin contact was igniting him everywhere, like a match to dynamite. He felt his face heat up hotter than the water of the shower, was unable to deny the twinges of excitement that ran down his spine and straight to that sensitive area below his waist. "I-idiot," he managed as he began wriggling in Antonio's grasp, "you still have soap in your hair…"

The other backed off and laughed. "Yeah, I guess I do. I forgot."

Wordlessly, Lovino reached up and buried his fingers in Antonio's hair. "Back up," he mumbled, and Antonio silently complied. The elder backed into the spray of the shower, then leaned over the tiniest bit so that Lovino would have better access to his hair. Gently, Lovino worked the soap out of Antonio's hair, massaged his scalp in what he hoped was a sensual way.

Antonio moaned lightly, craned his head upward a bit to meet Lovino's eyes. "That feels good, Lovi," he whispered.

They stepped closer together, like this was some sort of dance, and Lovino washed the rest of the soap out of Antonio's hair.

"Let me do you!" Antonio shouted excitedly as he squeezed a bunch of shampoo into the palm of his hand and smacked it on Lovino's head. He began running his fingers through Lovino's hair and sang a cheery Spanish song. "Ah, this really takes me back, Lovi!"

Lovino sighed heavily and let his head fall limp. He stared at the ground in dismay. "This isn't what I had in mind, idiot…" He mumbled, though he was sure Antonio hadn't heard him over the loud Spanish singing.

Antonio's expert-fingers slowly worked themselves through Lovino's hair, massaged the soap in and eventually washed it out. Lovino suppressed groans of pleasure as Antonio's fingers finally began to message his scalp in the way he wanted. Antonio messaged everywhere, deliberately, before he finally arrived at Lovino's second-most sensitive area. The elder pinched the curl in Lovino's hair between his thumb and forefinger, slowly ran them down the length of it.

"Ah!" Lovino panted, unable to control himself. He pushed himself against Antonio, unable to stand without support. Italian arms snaked around a Spanish neck and gripped tightly. Lovino found himself pressed tightly against the elder, but neither seemed to care. "Hmm, nhh…" He was unable to control the pants that escaped his lips, though he was doing a good job at keeping most of them in.

"Let your voice out," Antonio whispered sexily against Lovino's ear. The Spaniard licked and then nibbled at the ear, causing more moans of pleasure to erupt from the Italian. "I want to hear your love song."

If Lovino had heard Antonio say that anywhere else, he would've head-butted him and told him to stop being so cheesy. But there, at that moment, it was beautiful. It continued to turn Lovino on, excited him even more than he was. He couldn't explain the mechanics behind it.

"A-aah, A-aantonio…" Lovino attempted to call out the other's name. The waves of pleasure coursing through him were stronger than his senses, his ability to think rationally. He felt his hips grinding against Antonio's, eliciting a loud moan of pleasure from the Spaniard. One tight appendage rubbed against the other, and soon the two were grinding against one another in perfect synchronization.

Antonio abandoned Lovino's hair – much to the younger's dismay – and held his hands in alignment with Lovino's hips. "Put your legs around my hips," Antonio whispered. Lovino consented, and the Spaniard helped him up. They crashed against the far wall, Lovino's legs hitched onto Antonio's hips and Antonio's hands holding Lovino's hips tightly.

The two kissed superficially at first, then deeper as Antonio started grinding his penis against Lovino's. Lovino could no longer hold the cries of pleasure; every moan, grunt, and hiss he had within him came spilling out through his lips as Antonio quickened the pace. Antonio nibbled at the nape of his neck, adding to an already overwhelming sense of pleasure that racked his body.

He couldn't breathe. It was almost scary. Instead of freaking out, he focused on how good it was feeling and clung tightly to Antonio, whispering the Spaniard's name over and over. Shakily, Lovino tried licking and nibbling Antonio's ear, earning a groan of satisfaction from the other.

Everywhere, he was trembling. His heart was racing – he was sure if it beat any faster it would explode – and he was hot all over.

He knew what was coming.

"Ah, damnit, Antonio, I-I'm g-going to cum…" He inhaled sharply and threw his head back in ecstasy. A small fraction of his conscious couldn't believe he was cumming so quickly and easily, but it was deftly drowned out by the rest of the sensations running through his body. Whether he liked it or not, he was loudly vocalizing his pleasure: "_Fuck! _Y-yes, Antonio…damnit, bastard…ah! Mmgnh!" He clung to Antonio, thoughtlessly dug his nails into the other's back. In an effort to stop being so loud, Lovino buried his face in Antonio's neck and began nibbling.

Antonio groaned and returned Lovino's calls with his own, though he was a little quieter. The Spaniard's thrusts tripled in speed as he called Lovino's name, moaned it as though it were the only word in his vocabulary.

They came together, cried out the other's name in unison. The two slowly panted out the rest of their orgasms, gradually disentangled themselves from one another and sunk to the floor of the shower.

They stared one another down for a moment until Antonio gently took Lovino's cheek in his hand and kissed him. The kiss didn't last more than a couple of seconds, but it was sweet and sensual, which almost made it better than the other kisses. When Antonio backed off, he panted, "I love you, Lovino."

Lovino didn't hesitate. "I love you, too, Antonio."

Antonio smiled and straightened his back, which caused him to be in the direct line of fire for the shower. He screeched and scrambled out from underneath it. "Ah, Lovi, it's really coooooolllldddd!"

Lovino rolled his eyes, looked up to check the knobs of the shower. He tested the cold one, only to find it already off.

They had run the shower out of hot water.

The Southern Italian tsked in annoyance. "How the hell are we supposed to get clean now?"

"I bet it'll be okay if we hold each other really close –" Antonio began happily.

"Not going to happen, pervert!" Lovino shouted in partial annoyance as he got to his feet and turned off the shower. Antonio complained playfully as he followed Lovino out of the shower. "I guess we can take a sink-shower…" He mused.

"Sounds fun!" Antonio cheered as he moved to the sink and turned the water on. "Lovi, we can wash each –"

"No thanks!" Lovino cut him off as he grabbed his own washcloth. "I'm good."

"You're no fun, Lovi," Antonio sang as he lathered soap into his washcloth.

The two washed in awkward silence. At least, it was pretty awkward for Lovino. He was trying to wash everywhere and angle his private parts away from Antonio's gaze at the same time. Antonio wasn't even looking at him; the bastard was more focused on cleaning himself off and singing that same cheery tune. Though Lovino was aware of this, he didn't want to give the Spaniard reason for his eyes to slip. He knew that was the first thing they would do if given the opportunity.

And why make things easier for the elder? Things weren't as fun if a struggle wasn't involved.

* * *

A little while later, the two nations emerged from the bathroom in new pajamas, as provided by Germany. Naturally, they were more uncomfortable than not; they closely resembled military uniforms. But Lovino welcomed the change of clothes; his others, which he had borrowed from Feliciano, were a little too tight around his legs. Feliciano preferred to wear tight clothing, because it apparently 'accentuated' body features.

Lovino believed comfort should never be sacrificed for fashion. He never could get interested in that sort of thing…

He collapsed onto their shared bed, then, with a troubled sigh. Unconsciously, Lovino buried a hand in his hair, closed his eyes. How was he going to break the news of the Axis' fate to Antonio, after what they had just done…? Talk about mood killer.

Antonio collapsed onto the bed next to him, so that they were lying parallel, their heads touching.

Lovino's right hand – which wasn't tangled in his hair – found Antonio's left and held it. Antonio squeezed back gently with what seemed like a happy sigh, rubbed the skin near Lovino's thumb softly. The younger sighed once more in annoyance, rolled his head in the direction opposite the elder's gaze. He wouldn't be able to do this with their gazes locked together.

"A-antonio," Lovino forced as he covered his eyes with his left hand, "I…have to tell you something…"

"Hmm?" He felt the other turn his head.

Lovino took a deep sigh, paused for a moment. Though neither of these things helped in the least. "Feliciano and I…" he began, unsure, "…we're…declaring war against the Axis."

"What?" The other asked, incredulous. He sat upright and looked down on Lovino; the Italian was all too aware of those emeralds on his skin. He moved his hand slightly, so that his face was still covered but he was able to see Antonio's face. Lovino bit down on his lower lip, wishing this was just a bad dream.

"It…was Ludwig's idea…" Lovino mumbled, as though mentioning this would somehow make the action okay. "He…said that he wanted us to do it, because…we were suffering…" He paused for a moment, found it hard to swallow, forced himself to continue, "But…it was my decision to call the Allies in the end…Feliciano wanted me to decide…" Lovino squeezed his eyes shut and bit down harder on his lip. Fucking war.

Antonio took his wrist, gently moved it away. Lovino grudgingly allowed this to happen, blinked back stinging tears. "I still love you, Lovi," he whispered, causing the tears to fall freely. The Spaniard kissed them away, fixed Lovino's hair when he sat upright. "I'm proud of the both of you. You're just doing what you have to in order to prosper. I understand."

Hot tears ran down Lovino's face, unbridled. Nothing but guilt ran through him; guilt for turning his back on Ludwig and Honda, guilt for leaving Antonio behind, guilt for everything. He suddenly felt as though everything that had occurred was his fault, and that he and his brother would not be better off once they officially sided with the Allies.

The elder opened his arms, and the younger flew into them, unabashed. A moment of silence passed, in which Lovino attempted to control his tear ducts. It was in vain. "A-antonio…What are you going to do?" For once since this conversation began, Lovino was able to look into the Spaniard's eyes, though he was still tearing a bit.

"I'm…probably going to…stay sympathetic to the Axis," came the soft response.

Lovino snapped his eyes shut and threw his head down onto Antonio's chest as the tears began anew. It wasn't a declaration of war, but it may as well have been. It hurt just as much.

They held each other close, Antonio humming a comforting Spanish lullaby and rubbing Lovino's shoulder while silent, bitter tears streamed down Lovino's cheeks. Why was this happening?

"When are you leaving?" Antonio whispered into his hair.

"Feliciano and I are…meeting with the Allies tomorrow…" Lovino managed. "We…probably won't come back after we've gone…" There was a small silence before Lovino broke it with a hate-filled choice Italian curse. "I hate war, Spagna…" He crooked his head up to look at the elder's face. "What do I do? Who knows how long we'll be apart…"

"Ah, Lovi, you'll be cute forever!" Antonio said after a moment of staring into the younger's eyes. He forced a tight hug with the Southern Italian and continued, "I don't know what we'll do. We'll have to wait it out and just pray for each other until the war's over, I guess. I'm going to miss you!"

Lovino cursed once more, hugged the Spaniard as tightly as he could. "I'm…going to miss you, too," he whispered, his mouth buried in Antonio's shoulder. He turned his head inwards more, so that he was looking at Antonio's neck. "I…I love you, Antonio." Lovino took slow, deep breaths, tried to take all of the Spaniard's scent into his lungs so that he could remember it and carry it with him forever. He had to make this eternal.

"I love you, too, Lovino," Antonio whispered in his ear. Shivers went down Lovino's spine as a warm sensation spread throughout his body. He was sure this reaction wasn't quite appropriate for the context of their conversation, but there was no stopping it.

Lovino was aware of an odd sensation that started at his heart and worked its way outward, until it radiated through his limbs, and even his toes. It was as though some sort of dam had broken within him, and suddenly torrents of the emotion were gushing through him, completely overwhelming him with its strength. His whole body was buzzing with it; his heart fluttered, his cheeks were red…It almost felt as though his soul were singing with this emotion.

It was love, sheer and utter love. He had never felt something for someone else so strongly before, and he doubted he ever would again. He didn't just love Antonio; he was _in _love with the Spaniard.

And it was the most amazing thing he had ever experienced.

He had to act on it before it went away. He wanted to, needed to.

"A-antonio," Lovino said softly as he cupped Antonio's face in his hands and placed his forehead against the elder's, "I…want to show you how much I love you."

"Hmm?" Antonio whispered, tightening his arms as they wrapped around Lovino's back. "What do you mean, Lovi?"

Lovino swallowed. "I want to…make…love." It sounded so cheesy and awkward… But it felt right. Before Antonio could say something stupid and completely ruin the moment, Lovino kissed him with all his might.

Oh yes, he was definitely ready for this.


End file.
